With the smell of turkey already behind us, the music of mistletoe and good ole’ saint nick caroling in our ears, we are all ready to snuggle next to chestnuts roasting on an open fire and start spending Christmas time with our loved ones. But an enemy stands in our way: WINTER SEMESTER FINALS. Before the season of jolliness hits, the season of stress, winter depression, and the questioning of whether we should be an educated species starts to flood our brains and overwhelm our senses.
It’s plain and simple: finals suck. However as a college senior, I’ve slaved through my own share of finals, and found and come up with different methods and tricks to help one get through this hellish season.
Tip # 1: Eat Well
Finals limit the time for one to make a home cooked meal on a regular basis, but the message is: do what you can. Instead of eating cup ramen every day, maybe go to Trader Joe’s and pick a week’s worth of healthier to-go/microwave options like a chicken veggie salad wrap or a cauliflower pizza. You can also dedicate one day to meal-prepping a bunch of meals that can last you for a week, or you can figure out a system with your roommates to work together and take turns to make a home cooked meal a couple of times a week. If pennies are low, just purchase a bag of spinach and fruit to eat with that ramen. Find what works best for you because at the end of the day, if you just eat easy junk, you’ll feel like crap. And turns out, surprise surprise, finals are worse to go through if you’re feeling like crap.
Tip # 2: Rest Well
Now this is easier said than done. The stress of finals can affect sleep schedules, or you may be voluntarily sacrificing sleep to work on those projects and study guides. Either way, you’re losing sleep and here’s a quick crash course to sleep better during finals season.
Mini tip 1. TAKE NAPS – Naps save lives. I wasn’t raised to be a napper, but in college I quickly realized that it’s better to take a nap in the middle of the day than to push through the grogginess for the rest of the day if I didn’t sleep well the night before.
Mini tip 2. ASMR – I used ASMR sleep/destressing videos a lot when I was going through a stressful time my Junior year. I had trouble falling asleep and I would wake up earlier than my alarm because my body was full of anxiety and jitters. ASMR soft sleep trigger videos helped my body relax and would get me to sleep when my mind wouldn’t let me. If ASMR doesn’t work, find a calming instrumental playlist instead.
Mini tip 3. LIMIT BLUE LIGHT BEFORE BED – Back when I would be stressed academically, I would scroll on social media before bed and would end up doom scrolling for hours because I was trying to avoid the stress and anxiety of my school work. This would make me stay up longer than I intended and I would end up losing sleep. Turn off that phone and read a book instead.
Tip # 3: Academically Trauma Bond
No matter how annoying people may be on your college campus, one thing is for sure: all of our a$$es are getting whipped during finals season. We’re all in this together, so finding people to study with and to complain about school together can make you feel less stressed and alone.
Tip # 4: Make Stu(dying) fun!
Instead of suffocating yourself by studying in a library all day/night, try suffocating in a cute café instead! If studying for an exam, record yourself teaching the subject and play that recording as you go for a nice nature walk to make that info stick a lil extra in your brain. Face mask it up while writing that final paper or go out for ice cream after that cram. Getting a lil treat during our suffering helps with motivation and makes us want to end it all a lil less.
Tip #5: Remember why you’re doing it all
In the end, college is an academic pursuit. We are here to get our diploma, and a college degree is something to be proud of completing. So although this is the time where we often want to throw the towel and call it quits, we’ve come too far and suffered too much to have it all end here. Finals constantly challenge us mentally, physically, and emotionally. But we fight back and pull through, and I know we can do it. So take a deep breath with me, bust open those energy drinks, and let’s get crack-a-lackin’ as we slay these finals!!