It’s that time of year again. As the spring semester comes to a close, high school and college students alike look with rising fear toward the most dreaded week of the semester: finals week.

No one likes finals week. Stress and anxiety levels skyrocket, and most of the time you feel like a chicken without its head. There’s a reason the week preceding finals is called “dead week”; campus is dead, classes are dead, and most students would rather be dead than dealing with research papers, final portfolios, two hour exams, and presentations. We wonder how anyone could possibly have prepared for this, but after procrastinating with a few Disney movies, you realize…Disney actually summed up finals week pretty well…

1. When you sit down with all of your notes, and all of your books and you’re READY

To defeat *bum bum* this test! If Mulan can conquer the Huns, you can totally conquer finals week. Hell, she went from being the " wimpy kid sister" to being an inspiration to the entire Chinese army in one musical number! You’ve got your notes and books, and a coffee in your hand. Nothing can stop you from acing all of your finals.

2. When you start to go through your notes and realize there’s a lot of information you still don’t know…

But you remain optimistic! Optimism is essential, almost as essential as coffee. Just remember, nothing can stop you!

3. When you convince yourself that pulling an all nighter is a good idea

You’ll sleep when you’re dead! Right now, the most important thing is making sure you have thoroughly prepared for finals: you’ve got papers to write, projects to finish, and exams to study for! You don’t have time for sleep! Sleep is for the weak!

4. When you have your first breakdown, due to a caffeine and information overload

And your friends have to pull you back to reality...

5. When you make that 3 a.m. coffee run

You’re craving doughnuts, you’re low on energy, and you still have five hours of studying before your 8 a.m. final. Dunkin (or, if you’re in the North Country, Tim Horton’s) is just around the corner, and you need it. You need it bad.

6. When you get to your first final and your professor ask’s how many hours of sleep everyone got the night before

It feels like they’re mocking you. They know you haven’t slept in days, but they ask so nonchalantly…they’re definitely mocking you, and there’s nothing you can do about it because your academic fate now lies in their hands.

7. When you sit down for your exam and realize the first question is on a topic you didn’t study

This usually causes outrage because professors hand out study sheets. They tell you everything that is going to be on the test, and then inevitably put something on the test that they specifically said would not be there…

8. When your professor says you have ten minutes left, and you still have to finish your short response answers

You know the information, you just cant seem to recall any of it at the moment. You only have ten minutes to wrap it up, so you start writing in double time, and your brain goes into high power mode…and most of what you’re writing is complete BS.

9. When you hand in your final, completely certain that you have failed

You did your best, you worked hard, you put your nose to the grind stone and…you totally failed. You’re sure of it. There’s not way you passed that exam. You’re definitely going to get kicked out of college for this…

10. When you’ve made it half way through, and thing’s can’t possibly get any worse

And then they do

11. When you only have one final left

You’re in the home stretch now! You can almost taste freedom! All you have to do is get through one more final and you can blow this popsicle stand. You plan to sleep for days.

12. That’s it! You’re done! Congratulations!

Now that finals week is over, you can go home and sleep…until you remember that final grades get posted in a few weeks. But you’ll stress about that later. For now, you’re just happy you survived (even though you might also be dead).

13. When final grades go up, and you’re terrified to even look

You prepare for the worst, and try to squash any hope that you might have pulled out an okay grade. Expecting to fail and getting a “C” is much better than expecting a 4.0 and getting a 1.7…

14. You passed!

All that studying paid off! You worked hard, and you are pleasantly surprised with your high grades. Look’s like you don’t have to look forward to a life of flipping burgers anymore! You’re doing fine :)