“May the odds be ever in your favor” – how to conquer finals week
Ceilidh Adams
Opinion Editor
I look at my schedule and panic. Three papers, registration for classes, picking housing for next semester, and three presentations I haven’t even started yet, all this week.
I remind myself to take a breath. It can be a lot, packed into those dreaded last weeks of the semester. The end is so near, and yet so far away.
Instead of panicking, (which is easy to do, to be honest), prioritize. Think: what is due tomorrow?. What is due this week, that I can do quickly?. What are the most important things that I have to do?
My biggest piece of advice? Take it one day, one paper, one class at a time. Focus on one thing at a time.
Another thing that is easy to say and harder to do during finals week: sleep. Trust me, that paper that you started at 3a.m. that day will not make any sense in the morning. Take a nap if you have to, just to re-energize.
Along with this, take breaks. Try not to cram
for that exam the night before. Instead, spread out your study sessions over one week, or even a few days. Zapping all of your energy at once, in one study session over a short period of time will burn you out quickly.
It may seem silly, but immerse yourself in the information you are studying. Place a flashcard or sticky note on your mirror, with that math equation or definition you have to remember.
Even better: most of us millenials are constantly on our phones. Make that information you have to remember your lock screen on your phone. This way, you will constantly be looking at it, and you will subconsciously remember it as you are just checking your phone casually.
There are many very helpful places on campus that are super important during finals week to utilize. Even as an English major, you can see me at the writing studio getting help on a paper or thesis during these dreaded weeks.
Sometimes it just takes that extra push for you to get through these last few weeks of school. Is there something that you are not just getting in your math class? Take this concept down to the Math help center in the Academic Achievement Center in the Maxwell Library, so that you can finally grasp this concept for your upcoming final.
Additionally, there are many great resources online that you can go to to get help on any concept, from English, to Biology, to Math. Try Youtube for literature help, or find a lecture on a psychology topic from a TED talk.
Through immersing yourself in this topic in many different ways, you can help yourself to understand this concept or topic fully. Finally: relax. You can do this.
“May the odds be ever in your favor”- The Hunger Games
Ceilidh Adams is The Opinion Editor for the Comment. Email her at c3adams@student.bridgew.edu
