The final week of classes are here, and you're absolutely terrified.
After 15 weeks of hourlong classes, and endless nights of homework and studying, everything has finally boiled down to a single week of classes and a few pieces of paper that will determine a large part of your final grade. You've pulled your hair out from stress and you've gone through multiple cups of coffee a day. You've prepared all semester for this last week before freedom every semester. So what on Earth do you go through during finals week?
Here's the gist of it:
Depression.
That's right, it is not uncommon for people to gradually get a bit more depressed during this last week of tests; you have one test/project one right after the other, and you are constantly staring at a computer screen or numbers or words on a page for hours straight. In my current state, I should be finishing my creative non-fiction essay, but instead I am sitting on my building's balcony writing this, drinking wine, and trying not to have an existential life crisis. You have so much on your shoulders all to deal with in such a short amount of time. You have good nights, bad nights, and absolutely terrible, awful nights. Just breathe, have some tea, take a bath, and chill, fam. You got this.
Anxiety.
When you have so many different subjects to study for all at once, you're mind is going a mile a minute, and if you already suffer from daily crippling anxiety, finals only make it a million times worse. Your mind races and your heart rate picks up because just how the hell are you supposed to pass four tests and come up with three projects and two presentations? Just typing out these words are genuinely giving me anxiety, and when I even begin to think about if I'm gonna pass everything it gets even worse.
Exhaustion: Sleepless nights.
Finals are notorious for being partly take-home. When you have multiple take-home finals, you're scrambling up every ounce of energy you have left to try and finish a God-awful final that you have to do at home. Who has time for that? I sure don't, but here they are. Staring at you at two in the morning. Your sleep schedule will probably get completely messed up because you're napping at 10 until three in the morning, doing some work, going back to sleep, and working on it even more in the morning (I've done this method before, it's not smart, please do not do this).
Complete disregard for self-Care.
You probably smell. No, seriously. Who has time for laundry during finals week?
You're probably hungry. When you're constantly on the run doing homework and studying and crying and having panic attacks, who has time to eat? Who actually has time to stop at the grocery store or Chipotle and feed yourself? My lunch for the past week has consisted of horrible 7-Eleven food and some oranges. Maybe some bread? Who knows?
Basically finals are the devil in disguise; you're kind of dying for a week, yet you're pushing yourself to the fullest to just get over and done with this semester. Guess what, champ? Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you believe in you, because I believe in you.
Whether or not I believe in "me" is a different story, but I'll leave that up to my professors.
