It’s almost the end of November, meaning that Thanksgiving Break is almost over (it already is for some of us) and final exam preparations are in full swing. Our to-do lists read like laundry lists of deadlines and essays while our sleep schedules take a turn for the (absolute) worst. Cramming becomes an increasingly likely prospect for the weeks ahead and you start to stock up on granola bars, ramen cups (or zucchini noodles if that’s your thing), and Starbucks Double Espresso Shots. You start to miss the fall festivities you had just enjoyed and the cranberry sauce, turkey stuffing and giblet gravy that you had just devoured (or despised) three days ago on Thanksgiving. Enough said.
Read on for seven things from the Odyssey at UC Berkeley that I’d rather do than get ready for finals early, even though technically, having finals in two weeks is not “early” at all.
1. Watch TV
Binge-watching season 2 of Stranger Things on Netflix would be awesome, and so would any other show that I’ve missed during my childhood (my personal favorites are Anne of Green Gables, The Vampire Diaries, and Smallville). Additionally, one or two (hundred) episodes of Modern Family, The Simpsons, Bates Motel and How I Met Your Mother would do just fine as well. Throw in a Bollywood soap opera binge in between, and I’m the world’s happiest and most merry woman. Because there’s nothing I would love to do more than to mindlessly place myself in front of a good ol’ television/laptop screen for sixteen hours straight while procrastinating for my highly important Anthropology final.
2. Sleep
Sleep is for the weak, and let’s face it - I totally am weak, and we all probably are as sleep-deprived college students. I would love to sleep in bed, with my perfectly warm linen sheets, and never have to get up to attend that final review session with that helpful GSI tomorrow. Dreaming about getting straight A’s while sleeping away from my responsibilities seems to be the loveliest of options I’d rather pursue than just studying for my final examinations in December.
3. Eat
Binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy seasons through the night is one thing. Eating popcorn, pretzels, salty snacks or anything else that suits my palate (sweet, savory, spicy, you name it) is another. Mash them both together, and you’ve got one heck of a double whammy. There is nothing better than sitting back on your bed, with your ears fully plugged in with earphones, and your roommates' Netflix subscription just zapping away, one show after the other, while you stuff dollops of sustenance (aka Soylent drinks or the beloved dish of mac and cheese) down your mouth. Your taste-buds become enlightened while you edify your vision through quality television time. It’s a win-win of the olfactory (taste) and vision (sight) senses!
4. Apply for Jobs and Winter Internships
Searching for winter internships and applying for part-time/seasonal jobs online while avoiding final examinations is a painfully ironic situation to realize. Here I am, getting ready for what’s three weeks ahead of me, but not for what’s due very soon. I know cramming will yield negative results, and even if it doesn’t, it will for my health, mood, and soul. And yet, I’ve already submitted five job applications more than I have final exam papers. Can’t we just interchange the due dates? (Don’t answer that; it’s a rhetorical question).
5. Read
Final examinations haven’t even started, but I believe that reading for leisure purposes under high duress - under circumstances of high stress and academic tension - is a perfect way to start preparing for those tests. I could read classical novels, romance novels, magazines, newspapers, or even just photographic essays online. At this time, you find that you suddenly deeply sympathize with the wretched plights of The Hunger Games series. Who knows, I may even learn something new about how to solve the Sudoku problems or the New York crossword…And the days before finals season seems to be - for some odd but unexplainable reason - the prime time to do so!
6. Work out
Being the couch potato that everyone knows that I am, this seems incredulous, but it’s true. It’s about relativity, as Einstein said, and thus, it is - relatively speaking, working out seems a far better and more enjoyable option than getting ready for final examinations early. Think about it: getting up to go to the gym or recreational center, perhaps even meeting up with a friend there, sounds like a much more enticing choice than does going to the library and burying yourself in books. Endorphins beat erudition here.
7. Browse Social Media
Whether it be browsing the UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens Facebook page, refreshing your Flickr/Tumblr/Instagram/Snapchat/Twitter/Facebook feeds multiple times per hour per day (even though nothing new pops up), or reading articles on productivity on Medium, you are bound to an endless cycle of hopeless procrastination. As soon as you get one line done on the introduction paragraph of your essay or you’ve finished writing one abstract for your honors thesis/research unit class, you get back to browsing social media and laughing/crying at other people’s memes. You giggle when your peers tag you in a meme and feel a momentary sentiment of what seems to resemble ecstasy. Perhaps you even resort to updating your LinkedIn profile/resume when you start contemplating the thought of getting ready for final exams because doing the former is less daunting than the latter. Whatever activity you choose to engage yourself in, social media centers itself at the heart of it.
