Surviving Finals Week

Ah, finals week; the one week every semester that makes college kids hate everything about their lives. Suddenly there is crying everywhere, people are sleeping in public places, and caffeine is consumed at incredibly dangerous quantities. The campus is a sea of leggings and sweat pants and makeup is from two days ago. I am no different from these helpless people. Working on top of school is always a lot but during finals week it gets even worse. There is so much to do always, and less time than normal. Normally, 24hours in a  day is plenty, but during finals week 48 hours or more would be best. I have read quite a few blog posts/ seen a lot of videos about “how to survive finals week” and they are full of tips that no one who is actually in the middle of finals week would do. Or have time to do. Below I have outlined some things you can do to survive finals because let’s face it, no one has time for yoga and meditation when you have four classes asking a million separate things from you. 

Photos by: Kevin Hill

Wine- Step one to making it through finals is wine. Or beer if that is more your style. The key here is to not drink hard liquor because that will end in too intoxicated to get what you need to do. But a glass or two of wine is all you need to mellow enough to be able to sit down and focus on what you need to. Plus, it takes the edge off of the stress so you can focus. What I am saying here is wine=focus.

Comfort- Put on your comfiest clothes, grab the fluffiest blanket you have, and light some candles. You are going to be here for a while so get as cozy as possible so you can feel as good as possible about this horrible week. Get some pillows in the best spots and hunker down. And yes, do your work on the couch or in bed. I know everyone says not to do this, but when it is finals week, all of the rules go out the window and no longer matter. Seriously, just get comfortable because you will be here for a while.

Sweets- To get through this week, you need sugar. Most people say the key is lots of healthy foods, but ya know what? They are wrong. During this week of hell, allow yourself to splurge and bake some cookies, cake, brownies, whatever you like. If you aren’t a sweet tooth person, then get whatever your favorite junk food is and treat yourself to that. Order a pizza. Let yourself PostMates something you love. This week is the worst, so indulge yourself just a little bit.

Write it Down- Even if you are one of those magic people who can remember everything they need to do in your head, write it down. Make a list. Even if you don’t need to, it feels great to cross something off the list. It makes you feel like you are accomplishing things.

Take Time for Yourself- It is incredibly hard to do this when you are in college anyway, but especially during finals week, you need to take time (even five minutes) to do something not homework related. Take a shower, get another glass of wine, cry for a couple of minutes, whatever it is you need to do!

The bottom line here is that there is no real way to survive finals. But these are the things that I do every semester that seem to get me through. So good luck to everyone out there taking finals! You can do it and you will survive. It seems like a stupid thing to say in the middle of all of the stress, but you truly will. And one bad grade will not ruin your life. I promise. Remember to drink water in between your wine and coffee, and don’t forget to feed yourself. As long as you can do that you will make it out alive!

Let me know in the comments below your favorite ways to make it through finals week!

Madey

Shop this post:

Hoodie- Adidas

Leggings- Free People

Socks- Unknown, similar here

Wine- House

Wine Glass- Unknown, similar here