“Designers, you have 30 minutes to shop and a budget of $200. Time starts now!” If only these were the instructions for my upcoming midterm. Unfortunately, I will have 75 minutes to write, calculate, analyze, and panic, with a budget of one pink eraser. Thankfully, the lessons I have learned from binge watching Project Runway have helped me to get in the right mindset for midterms when I finally decide it’s time to stop watching and start studying.
Lesson 1: Make it work
This is the favorite advice of Tim Gunn, the designers’ mentor on Project Runway. Maybe the cards didn’t fall in your favor and you have three midterms in a week, or you lost your lucky socks in the dryer, or you got stuck with an ugly fabric for the evening gown you have to make, but that doesn’t change the fact that you will still be taking your exam. It’s much more efficient to use your brain power to actually study than to think about how hard it can be to study.
Lesson 2: Do what works for you
We all have different ways of learning material, and what works for one person might not work for another. Whatever your study habits may be, stick to what you believe works for you, and embrace your test preparation aesthetic.
Lesson 3: Everything is high-level
This is not amateur hour. You may be used to perfect scores from high school, but Duke is one of the top universities in the country because of its high-level academics and talented student body. While setting high expectations can be motivating, sometimes that level of success you are used to can be unrealistic. Thankfully, exams are not as harsh as the runway, and one bad day does not mean you’re out.
Lesson 4: Leave it on the runway
When your exam is over, let it be. You did all you could leading up to that day, and the results of your efforts are no longer in your hands. All you can do is hope that Heidi Klum thinks your answers are modern, sexy, and wearable.