Midterm week is known as the dreadful time of tests, papers and practically drowning in coffee to get through it all. It is the week that we all pretend does not actually exist until it smacks us in the face. Before you know it, you’re pulling an all-nighter and studying for three tests at once. When you are sitting at your desk thinking about the millions of things you need to get done, it is hard to remember that there is a rainbow at the end of the storm. During this time of loneliness and endless hours in the library, we need to remind ourselves that just around the corner is a long weekend of no work and sleeping at home in your own bed.
So, how do you optimistically prepare for the hell that is about to consume your life this week? First, you need to remember—at all times—that there is more to life than papers and tests. Even when your life is revolving around meeting deadlines, it is important to keep in the back of your mind that at the end of the week a home-cooked meal is at home waiting for you. The key phrase to tell yourself when you’re at your brink of sanity: “It could be worse.”
You might be thinking that the only way this week could be worse is if all of your studying was for nothing and you fail all of your tests, but think about how fortunate we are to live in a world where everyone has the answer to everything in the palm of their hand (or on top of their desk). All of that studying that we do is nothing more than going online and finding the answers we need to memorize. When our parents were in college, studying consisted of searching through library books and essays until they found what they were looking for. For us, all we have to do is click a few buttons and the answers are right in front of us.
After the “research” is all done and your study guide is (finally) complete, the hard part comes along--studying. There is no bigger challenge to midterm week than sitting in front of a bunch of facts and concepts that you do not even care about and being told to memorize all of them. As we all know, this means trying to focus for hours on end without a minute to breathe, let alone eat a meal or catch up on your favorite show on Netflix.
The golden rule on how to get through midterm week is the word you have probably never heard anyone associate to studying: optimism. After all, why would anyone work hard without an incentive to do so? Thinking about the minute that you walk out of the doors after your last exam is what will get you out of a studying slump, and will push you through the last few paragraphs of that ten-page paper. So do not sit at your desk, waiting for your work to do itself. Get that sh*t done and then treat yourself to a stress-free weekend.
