It is out with the old, in with the new, goodbye, clouds of gray, hello, skies of blue and I am sure you all know the rest. 

Students, fear not, for right around the corner is sweet summertime, a time to relax and take some downtime away from exams, assignments and group projects. I think I just felt a chill down my spine with that one. 

Yet, here we are. In the midst of the countdown to the end of the semester, we are all scrambling to finish final projects and research papers and study for final exams. How do we cope with the idea that we are so close yet so far?

The best thing to do is to not lose motivation. We all want to be done with classes and move on to summer fun time, but that is just not the reality. We are in college to learn and get an education, and in order to do so, we must make it through finals and endure the testing of our knowledge from a whole semester of learning. Easy-peasy, right?

Never. It is never that easy. To be completely transparent, there is nothing easy about finals week, but you should know that you are not alone in your suffering. We are all suffering too. I mean, is this finals week at GC or my final week at GC? I guess we will have to wait and see.

That is a bit dramatic, but in truth, the way out of the suffering is to flip the script, and instead of being bummed about finals, we should stay positive and keep a positive outlook on the ending of the semester. Instead of seeing it as a week that we all dread, let us look at it as the short struggle before a long summer of peace.  

One thing that we can do is stay organized. Creating a study schedule can be very effective in staying motivated and getting work done. Write everything down that needs to be done, and you will feel satisfaction and pride in crossing things off that list one after another until there is nothing left. A study schedule can also help spread out studying over time so you can take breaks instead of feeling constantly overwhelmed.

Another important thing to do is take care of your physical health. It is a busy time for us students, but we really should get enough sleep, eat nutritious foods and get some exercise. It is not only important for our physical health but our mental health as well and will help tremendously in staying motivated with finals. If we feel strong, we will stay strong and do well. Things like sleep help your brain remember information, and it helps you feel more alert and focused. 

“At the beginning of the semester, I developed relationships with my professors so that later, if I am struggling, I could go to them for help,” said Lexie Mimbs, a freshman exercise science major. 

It is OK to ask for help. That is what our professors are there for. They want to see us succeed. Take advantage of office hours, SI sessions or simply email and get the help you may need in order to be successful with your finals.

“Whenever it comes down to studying for finals, I break up my time between studying and personal time so I am not just constantly studying all the time,” Mimbs said. 

Let us not forget that in the midst of scheduling time to study, going to office hours and making time for our sleep and exercise, we should also prioritize taking breaks. It is not good to study constantly. There is no way for our brains to retain that much information for that long when there are no breaks in-between. Let us take a little bit of time out of studying to take a second for ourselves and then get back on the grind. After all, it is only a few short weeks until we are final-ly free.