So the countdown is on: 11 days until finals.

What does this mean exactly?

It’s quite simple: this means that college life is real and that high school days have drifted far into the past.

Remember those wonderful things called exemptions? Well, I hate to break it to you…those don’t exist. Finals consist of recalling pretty much everything one’s ever heard or read in a course. This is seemingly impossible, as we have yet to achieve superhuman powers.

Scared yet? Don’t sweat your finals; they are actually not as bad as people make them out to be.

• What we make them out to be: blood, sweat and tears.
• What they actually are: excuses to eat junk food for two weeks, quality time with yourself, impressive masses of learning, extensive prayer sessions and lots of reading.

That doesn’t sound too bad right?

Here’s my take on finals. Ehhh…don’t call me odd, but they are relievers for me. I look forward to finals because they tend to give me a reason to organize all of my papers from the preceding semester, and they allow me to solidify all of the knowledge that I have stuffed into the ridges and gyri of a three-pound mass of tissue that doesn’t get enough credit for all the favors it does. I digress…finals are quite wonderful I tell you, especially this time of year! Finals in 11 days means that Christmas is in 24 days, and if you have failed to note, I have an utter obsession with Christmas. The joy. The lights. The spirit. I digress, again.

This semester, I have seven finals to look forward to. It actually isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds. Several of the finals are point scored (you won’t have many teachers that grade via this method). Ergo, if 300 points is equivalent to an A, and I already have 260 points (and the final is worth 100 points)…well my dear friend, I’m sitting pretty. Blessings like these allow me time to focus on the other subjects that are more strenuous and require extensive amounts of reading and studying. So you want tips for finals eh?

Why of course!

• Don’t eat too much junk food (however, I don’t discourage some to get you through the tough days).
• Study the material that you don’t know.
• Review the material that you do know.
• Eat breakfast! Drink a bit of water before each exam (this tip is for scientific purposes, but please beware that you will be sitting for quite some time).
• Set goals for yourself.
• Pray.
• Don’t be discouraged.
• If your friend Bob goes to West for kolaches on Thursday because his finals are over and invites you (and you have 2 finals on Friday)…think this over very well.
• PRIORITIZE.
• Remember that a grade does not define you. It simply measures how thoroughly you know the material with respect to the format in which your professor presents it.
• When it’s all over…SLEEP. Rest your brain.
• Don’t procrastinate.
• Don’t ignore the preceding tip!

Be challenged. Exceed your goals. Sic those finals!