Oh midterm season, what a joy it is. From the late night study sessions, to the ridiculous amounts of coffee and exhaustion it brings, it's one of the greatest challenges to the college student. While it may feel like the worst thing in the world, midterm season can give you a huge sense of accomplishment–that is, if you could only survive the 11 different stages of struggles it brings.
1. Denial.
If you don't think about it, it'll go away, right? Maybe not, but that's definitely what you're going to keep telling yourself because one peep at your planner for the next few weeks already has you stressing.
2. Recognition of the (oh so very many) exams.
OK, you did it. You look took a deep breath, and you took a look at all of the many exams you have to prepare for in the coming weeks. It hurts, but they're there, and they aren't go away anytime soon (but if they did you might actually cry tears of joy).
3. Avoidance of the (literally so many) exams.
You know that you have one Chemistry exam, two English exams and a French exam next week, so what are you going to do to many sure you succeed? Well, that's something you're still trying to figure out because right now you're just doing a little "mental preparation," for the struggle that's coming your way.
4. Attempting to study in advance.
You know you should–you really do–and you really, and truly, try to do it. You go to the library right after class and you stay there until you can't tell the difference between letters and numbers anymore, and yet somehow, you're still pretty sure you don't know anything afterwards that you didn't already know before.
5. Giving up on studying in advance.
An attempt was made, even if it wasn't the most successful thing in the world. You deserve a break, and we all know you're probably going to take a really, really long nap.
6. Cramming right before the exams.
Somehow now it's the day before your exams start, and your brain kicks into overdrive. You're in the library all weekend, you haven't washed your hair in days, and you aren't sure if that weird smell is you or the person beside you (it's you). Somehow its already 2 a.m., and you're seriously contemplating your life choices.
7. Extreme exhaustion before the exams.
How much sleep did you get last night? Considering the fact that you don't even remember going to bed, you can assume it probably wasn't enough. Somehow you manage to drag yourself out of bed, and you find yourself wondering how much that studying is going to pay off if you can't even make it to the exam.
8. Drinking (way too much) coffee.
You can do this. At least, that's what you tell yourself as you pour your third cup of coffee in the past twenty minutes. You chug it down, plaster a smile on your face, and walk to class (and then run back inside to grab your book bag because not even three cups of coffee is going to get you properly functioning this morning).
9. Extreme pre-exam jitters.
You've got about a thousand butterflies in your stomach and you drank so much coffee that you can't stop aggressively tapping your pencil on the desk. It's safe to say you're a little nervous.
10. Taking the Exams.
All your hard work is paying off. You actually know the answer to the first question when you open the exam book. OK, wait. Did you even go over one of those essay prompts? You don't know and you aren't sure you care because you feel like overall, you actually sort of know what you're doing.
11. Surviving another midterm season.
You turn in your exam and walk out of the room. You're free. You did it. You don't know how you did, but you do know that it's over. You go take a nap. You've successfully survived yet another midterm season.
