Dear final exams,

You're stressing me out.

It's that beautiful time of the semester, isn't it? You have graced your presence amongst all college students and your intentions may mean well, but I'm definitely not feeling that. Oh, but it's only the beginning if you're like me and you're not even close to graduating and have more semesters ahead of you.

Final exams are the kind of thing that you don't think about right away when you first start your semester off. It's something you know will eventually happen, but it's too far away and it's way too early to think about. Then your midterm exams happen and you get a small taste of what it's going to be like. Still, even during midterm exams it's not all that bad considering the workload may not be as intense. There's still a good portion of the syllabus left to learn in your classes anyway!

Since we're in the Fall semester right now, the next thing after midterms is the anticipated Thanksgiving holiday break. This break is typically spent well considering there's actually time off from school where you may get the chance to relax. When that's all said and done, however, then the end of the semester rush begins. Suddenly the days go by faster than usual and you've found yourself piled with assignment after assignment due by a certain date during what your college may call "finals week."

If you're anything like me, the common things you may go through during this time would be things like loss of sleep, an increase intake of caffeinated drinks (specifically coffee), painstaking anxiety, and stress-eating. It's unfortunate how this happens nearly every semester, but it's even worse in the Fall semester. It's getting colder and darker faster and all you want to do is curl up in your bed, sleep, and maybe never wake up.

Here's the thing though, final exams, even if you make me want to rip my hair out because of the constant assignments I'm getting and all the studying I've been doing, I'm not going to let you get me this time. I know that at the end of this, I'll actually be able to breathe.

Getting through all the painstaking work during this week is unbearable, but it makes the relief that comes with winter vacation worth it.

So please treat me well and grant good grades to everyone who has to suffer with you.