By Riley Nowlan (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 26, 2014
First of all — take a deep breath. Recognize you have made it through all your past semesters and you will make it through this one, as well. It’s a stressful time, but please don’t forget to take care of yourself. Study hard, but take bubble baths, drink multiple cups of tea, watch half an hour of a mindless sitcom, and then get back to work.
I have never felt more stupid than I do during finals time at university. It drives me nuts. I pay all this money, do endless amounts of assignments, go to class, do the readings — and then finals roll around and I am convinced I haven’t learned a thing. I will fail all my finals.
I’ve always been the type of student who strives for As, for that ego boost on the report card that says, “You did it! You worked as hard as you could and here is your award.” That was great, until the courses started getting harder and my priorities started to shift. At this point I have worked as hard as I possibly could and I know I won’t be getting any As this semester. This reality really bothered me until I had my mini end-of-the-semester breakdown, and then realized I had it all wrong.
I was totally consumed with the idea of my grade. In my mind, if I didn’t get an A, then I had failed — but that’s just not the case. I realized this wasn’t the reason I had started university. I had started university in an attempt to learn more, and to educate myself about things which would add value to my life.
I should be focused on walking away from a course having learned everything the course has to offer me, and it may not necessarily be represented as an A on my transcript. I have received As in courses that I don’t even remember, and Bs in courses that have impacted me greatly.
So as you enter your finals, try to take away as much as you can from the courses, and throughout this process, don’t forget to take breaks: get enough sleep, and leave the house every once in a while. As good as an A feels, it’s not worth your health and well-being, nor is it worth the incredible amounts of stress we all put ourselves through.
So work hard, learn lots, and know, though finals are painful, you will get through them —hopefully, having gained valuable knowledge.
