The End is Near.

Hello, hello! The end is near which for a lot of people means… FINALS. I know that I, as well as a lot of you, will be completely stressing and possibly freaking out over these next couple of weeks. For this hard time I wanted to share with you all a list of things I do to keep stress at a minimum before, during, and after my finals crisis. (The following images are NOT mine!)

BEFORE:

• Look at any info given to you for what to expect on your midterm. If you were not given a list or something similar then pester your professor for some hints. This way you know what to look for when it comes time to study.
• Schedule a time in advance for you to go somewhere quiet, or loud if it’s in a study group, so you know when you’ll be studying, for how long, and not accidentally make plans over it.
• Get all of your indulgences out of the way! Do you have that one show you need to catch up on? Did your fave’s new album just drop? Did a new restaurant open that you’ve been dying to try? Need to share the latest gossip with your BFF? Do those things ASAP so that they don’t serve as distractions when your final needs your attention.

DURING:

• Give yourself time. Don’t expect a 5 hour cram sesh to be the key to retaining all the information you need. Admit it, you’re no Willow Rosenberg. Touching some book and just absorbing the information isn’t likely.
• If you have a speech, record yourself reciting it and then practice by talking along while the recording plays.
• Every hour of studying deserves a twenty minute break. Within this twenty minutes between studying you can do anything. Grab a snack, listen to music, meditate, or whatever. Just let your mind rest every once in awhile instead of trying to get it all in one go.
• BRAIN FOOD! Make sure that you’re eating the healthiest food you can get your hands on during this time. Couple that with around the clock hydration and you’ll have the energy you need to get through the hell that is finals week. No one wants to see you crash, not even your Professor.
• Grab a partner to study with if you end up having questions or feel like you’re missing something.
• Background music has been proven to help people study. For me, I like to play yoga music. Anything that won’t distract you, but will work as a nice background noise is best. If you don’t like yoga music, or classical, I suggest going foreign. You’ll be able to feel the beat, but won’t get sucked into the lyrics.

AFTER:

• Now it is time to let loose all the tension that has been building up. Indulge in your favorite activity for however long necessary.
• Take the longest shower of your life to get rid off all that gross stress sweat. Plus, showers are their own kind of magic medicine. You just can’t help feeling better after.
• Treat yourself to your favorite food for being able to get through all the crazy that comes with finals.
• Try not to stress over what grade you got. If you did your best or even half of that, you passed.
• Dance! It doesn’t matter where, just shake out all of that extra tension.
• Learn something new. Picking up a new fact or interest can help get your mind off of all the material that has been crammed into it the past couple of weeks. For example: Did you know that a banana is actually a berry, but a strawberry or a raspberry aren’t!?
• Drink some hot tea. Though there are teas specifically meant to calm the consumer (ie: chamomile) holding a warm cup also has a soothing effect. If you don’t like tea, coffee or hot chocolate will work the same!
• Get some sleep. It wouldn’t be college if the students weren’t pulling extra hours to get some work in. Have a nice nap.

Good luck, everyone. I hope this helped. You can do it!

Enjoy life,

Brianna Renner