It's the finals season, and that means late nights in the library and, for many of us, lots and lots of papers. I have found myself on more than one occasion pulling an all-nighter to finish a paper and then waking up the next morning (well, what counts as morning for me) right before it is due to make sure I wrote about Plato and not Play Dough. I am sure you have all experienced these stages of writing a last-minute paper.

1. Look at the assignment and cry

2. Beat yourself up for not starting earlier

3. Try to think of a brilliant topic

4. Google a topic and get distracted by online Christmas shopping

5. Pick a topic that you can work with

6. Try to formulate a thesis

7. Cry some more

8. Take a deep breath and find quotes

9. Start freaking out

10. Calculate the worst grade you can get and still pass the class

11. Notice that it is already 1 am and you are only half way done

12. Caffeine

13. Pray for a miracle

14. Write some more things

15. Submit

16. Do a victory dance and watch the sun rise

17. Repeat