Let’s face it; finals week is rough. Frequent all-nighters and cram sessions are sometimes things that cannot be unavoidable, and they can bring out some odd habits in people that normally you wouldn’t see.
So, with that, here are the types of people that you’ll see during finals week along with a few ways to handle them.
1. The Over-Caffeinated One
This person is usually shaking while clutching a Starbuck’s cup. They talk about a mile a minute and you begin to wonder how many hours of sleep they’ve actually gotten in the past week.
To handle any over-caffeinated person you encounter, first of all make sure they’re never out of coffee; bad things happen when they’re out of coffee. Ease their panic a little bit by helping them study—quiz them, use flash cards with them, etc. Helping the over-caffeinated person realize what they know may help calm them down.
2. The One with the Glazed Over Expression (aka The Zombie)
This person has a glazed over expression and sometimes mutters things to themselves. I have no shame in admitting that I am this person. Internally, this person is panicking and really wondering if they’ll be able to make it through finals week. They’re also probably losing quite a bit of sleep, hence their zoned-out expressions.
The best thing to do when you encounter this person is to just stay out of their way. The zoned-out zombie is very methodical in their actions and they panic when something goes wrong; this something could be something as simple as standing in the way of the freezer where they’re keeping their ice cream that they plan on bingeing on.
3. The Procrastinator
This is the person who decides to wait until the night before—maybe even a few hours before—their final to start studying. Maybe they forgot it’s finals week or maybe they just stopped caring. Either way you’re incredibly frustrated when they somehow manage to pass their final.
The thing about the procrastinator is that you can’t just tell them to study because chances are they’ll just continue to procrastinate. Maybe offer to study with them so that they’re more motivated to get things done.
4. The Person Who's Incredibly Angry
This person is just fed up with school and everything that comes with it. They can frequently be found writing furiously and cursing their professors while they do so.
The best way to handle the angry person is to sit and listen to their rant. Venting will help them to de-stress if only for a few minutes.
5. The Person Who’s Sobbing in the Library
This person just realized that it’s finals week and that they have no idea what their final is even covering. If you see this person, offer them some tissues, some food… Basically just try to comfort them so that they feel a little better about life.
6. The Person Who Only has One Final
You silently detest this person, although most likely they had final essays or final exams a week ago. Either way, they just sit and watch everybody around them slowly go insane.
If you see this person try not to be too upset—it was their professors that decided to have everything due the week before finals week, and either way, that person went through exactly what you went through.
7. The Person Who’s Completely Prepared
We all strive to be completely prepared the day of our final exams, but some people just don’t even look stressed the rest of the week. They just sit calmly and ask why you’re so stressed out.
Try not to snap at them; you’ll get to that point too, or at least close to it. If they’re in the same class as you, maybe even ask them to help you out.
To wrap things up, finals week is a mess. You never know how people will respond to it, but no matter what you can lean on each other and try to help one another out. Good luck with your finals everybody; you’re in the homestretch!
