Finals week aka Hell week is something you always heard about in high school. You saw the posts made by your friends that graduated before you about how they were struggling to get through it and you just kind of laughed it off. But then you got to college and you experienced your first one and you were more stressed than you’ve ever been in your life. It’s not that funny anymore is it?

Well, I’m a senior now and I don’t think I’ve ever been more stressed for finals than I am now. There is so much more at stake if I decide to slack off and binge watch my favorite show again. Which is sadly what I’m doing now while writing this instead of writing my Ethics paper. I’m wishing I was living in Tree Hill hanging with Lucas, Nathan, Haley, and Brooke rather than thinking about what I have left to do.

But back to why this week is the most important and most stressful finals week of your college career. Graduation is at stake right now. If you are struggling in one of your classes and you don’t ace this final, you might have to retake the class which means the possibility of not walking in May. For me, that’s not an option. I need to graduate and be done because as you can probably tell, I struggle with self-discipline.

But for all of my fellow seniors, Gamecocks or not, we can do this. We have to do this. This is our 7^th and most important finals week. We have to come together and be each other’s support system.

Here are some things that I would recommend doing to get through this week:

• Try not to think about the future. Don’t think about anything further than Christmas. The only thing that is important right now is the next two weeks.
• Study or do your work somewhere other than your dorm or house. Too many distractions at home. Go to Starbucks or the library.
• Load up on snacks and coffee because you’re going to need it.
• Take breaks. The one thing that will break you this week is studying too much. Take plenty of breaks. Watch an episode, one episode, of your show when you finish a task.
• Sleep.
• Breathe.
• Manage your time wisely. Make a list of what you have to complete. If it is a long list then break it down into smaller lists of what you need to accomplish that day. You’re going to need to feel like you have accomplished something this week. When you create smaller lists you will get that.

I can’t guarantee that if you do all of these things you will pass all of your exams. But I do guarantee that you will still have your sanity when December 14 rolls around. Then you have a little under a month to not think about school at all.