After three months of hard work and studying, college students all over the nation prepare for one of the most stressful weeks of the year; finals week. Needless to say everyone is on pins and needles when approaching this week. Not only is their anxiousness for the much anticipated winter beak always in the back of their minds, but the fact that the final exams constitute as much as twenty five percent of their grade adds unnecessary pressure.
So how do we prepare for such a crucial week you ask? Like a typical college student would; lots of studying, lots of coffee, and zero sleep. It’s certainly a recipe for success in the college world, considering our bodies have adapted to challenging our brains with little to no sleep throughout the semester. It’s amazing how well the body can function on junk food and no rest. It’s how we survive. Outside college, such behavior is outlandish. I had a rude awakening of this concept after going home for a week during Thanksgiving. Me, being the girl who can stay up until three in the morning with little effort, was ready to sleep at eight o’clock at night when home. I have yet to find the cause behind such polar behavior, but I expect it to happen once more when I pack my things for a month of winter break.
You may be asking yourself, what drove these kids to cram in such an unhealthy way? I’ve come to the conclusion that college professors have banded together; a classic kid vs. adult showdown. Each teacher assumes that college students have nothing to do with their time before break, so they “innocently” assign massive papers and projects, conveniently due right before exams. This scheme drives students crazy, not only because of the blatant disregard for the time needed for quality studying, but also because we have no choice in the matter. So, as a result, sleepless nights are commonly accepted, in compensation for time wasted on papers that should have been assigned a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, every college student has since been keeping a countdown until their last exam of the semester down to the exact hour. Me? At the moment I still have three exams left, two of which are on the day I leave. Exactly two days and one hour until I am officially set free to go home and enjoy the holidays.
So while you are decorating your tree, hanging lights, lighting the menorah, or just planning family time, we will be hunkered down in the library, our dorm, or anywhere the school will allow us to study, preparing to take these exams. While your thoughts will be of sugarplum fairies and candy canes, ours will be of sharpened pencils and bubble sheets. Long live final exams. Otherwise, how on earth will college students ever carry on?
