It's almost the end of May which means college kids can start getting ready to make summer plans and enjoy the end of the semester. Unfortunately, they have to get through finals week before being free from spring semester. Well it's easy to know what you have to do for finals like prepare, study, review material, sell your soul to get a decent GPA, etc. But as I reach closer to my own impending doom, I've compiled a list of things you shouldn't do before finals.
1) Do not download a new game on your phone.
I've made this terrible mistake without realizing how close I am to finals. I'm currently stuck on level 59 on a game I haven't stopped playing for days and that's exactly what my grades will look like if I don't stop. Learn from my mistakes!
2) Do not start watching a new show.
It's also that weird time when most shows have either ended their season or have one more month of being on hiatus and you don't know what to do with yourself. I mean, sure you could study, but who actually does? But, just to try to be good to yourself, maybe you should keep away from Netflix until finals are over and then you can spend the rest of the summer hiding in your room binge watching Friends.
3) Do not play with your pets.
Being an owner of four cats I know it's tempting to just want to go and bother them and use them as an excuse when you don't want to do any real work. And they're always a great way to relieve stress and make you forget what's going on. But you and I both know you need to stop looking at their adorable faces, close the door if you have to, and just start studying.
4) Do not go out with your friends.
If you're the last of your friend group to be done with finals, then you most likely have to be the one to sacrifice your Friday/Saturday night to study rather than hangout. This might suck if you haven't seen your friends in a very long time, but luckily you'll have all summer to hangout with them. And I'm sure they'd rather see you pass and do well on your finals than cry later that you have to redo a class because you didn't prepare well for the final.
5) Do not be active on social media.
This is probably one of the hardest things to do given that many of us can't go five minutes without clicking on our Facebook or Instagram app. A helpful, and possibly healthy, trick to this is to log off or temporarily delete the app from your phone. Plus this way you don't have to see everyone else enjoying their finals free lives while you cry into your beautifully color coded note cards.
6) Do not spend more time figuring out how well you have to do to pass instead of actually dedicating time to knowing the material.
It's easy towards the end of the semester to want to slack off and just get a passing grade. Especially in a class you hate. But, if you know you're not doing so well in a class then it doesn't hurt to get extra tutoring or form a study group with students in class. Yeah sometimes teachers want you to go above and beyond for their classes, but as long as you know some of the main topics and key terms, you'll be fine. Plus no one can say you didn't study if you open your notebook every once in a while, (I'd say textbook, but let's be honest, who actually bought it?)
7) Do not complain about finals.
This article was about to be an open letter to finals week and how much I hated it, but I realized that finals are going to happen anyway and it's no use to go off about how much it sucks every time I open my notebook to study. If anything it makes finals week much longer than it has to and trust me I just want it over with and done!
8) Do not stress about finals.
Finals are one-two weeks, two hours given for each subject, and if you showed up to class all semester and reviewed the material you'll be fine! Even if you don't do so well on an exam, that won't be the end of your life. It's about how well you understand it and can apply it towards want you want to do for a career, not how good of a test taker you are.
9) Do not leave assignments last minute.
Liking this article so far? Yeah, thanks! I literally came up with this concept the day before I need to send it to get proofread and that's not a smart decision given that I had study for a final that was at 8 in the morning on a Friday. Some teachers probably don't give final tests, but more like final papers or whatever else to keep you from coming in for a two hour exam. Try to manage your time wisely if you haven't already. And if not, then best of luck to you!
To all the poor souls who still have to take finals, good luck to you all! We'll see each other on the other side very soon.
