My fall freshman semester, I didn't understand why everyone thought finals week was so bad, until I actually lived through it. In high school, finals week is very different from how it is in college. In high school, none of my finals were ever back to back and only a few were ever cumulative of the whole year. In college all of my finals have been cumulative, and I've had a final in every class except for two. At Millersville, our finals can also be back to back, for instance, this semester my numerical analysis class and stats class are back to back with only 15 minutes between two two hour exams for two of my most important classes this semester. I've also never had a semester where I don't have finals the entire week, and this year is no different. Thinking about it now, I can feel a ball of dread beginning to form in the bottom of my stomach.

Finals week is also incredibly stressful for people like me, who aren't exactly the best at self care. Remembering to eat is always something I struggle with, even when it's not finals week. It's easy for me to forget about the fact that I need to nourish my body when there are tasks I want to accomplish or when I'm feeling especially anxious or stressed out. Finals week increases the amount of stress and anxiety I feel, and between studying and trying not to completely freak out I often forget to eat. This semester has probably been my toughest semester, and my upcoming finals week looks like an absolute horror. Even though I'm going to want to scream the entire time and will most likely be riding a very thin line between managing my stress and having a complete breakdown, I'm going to try some strategies to help me remember to eat, sleep, and basically remain a functioning human being for my upcoming finals week.

Now I often see lists that are supposed to help people like me. They have nice sayings like "Don't forget to drink water!" "Take study breaks!" "Remember to bring snacks to the library!" but they don't really give you any advice on following the tips. It's easy for me to read these lists and say, "Yeah okay, I'm going to follow this little list and I'm going to be fine." That's never how it works out, though. I have found that tips people try to give me about remembering to take care of myself, don't really work during finals week, probably because it's hard enough for me on a daily basis. These are reminders that I have to think of daily, not ones that I can put on a sticky note during an incredibly stressful time and remember to do.

Here are my tips for people who need a little extra help during finals:

• Find a friend who is generally responsible, and maybe a little demanding, explain your situation to them, and ask if they would mind inviting you to a meal or meals/reminding you when it is meal time. Last semester, one of my friends would come to my room every night before going to dinner, and didn't leave until I agreed to come with her. It was only for one meal a day, but it helps a lot to have someone offer to go eat with out, or to tell you that you should really eat. It's hard to do things yourself, especially when you have this huge mountain or work and studying before you, but it's harder to forget to eat when you have a friend bugging you to eat with the.

•If you forget to wash your face, brush your teeth, shower, etc. during finals week, I want you to set an alarm right now for either the morning or the night. Make the name of it something like "TIME TO BE CLEAN" so not only will you remember what you set this alarm for, but it's basically giving yourself a command. Having that daily reminder, especially by setting it now and getting into the habit of performing the actions at a daily time can really help. During finals week, I'll even put alarms up to reminder me to go to sleep, and the week before I try to be in bed by a certain time so that my body gets into a cycle of realizing when it is time to sleep. By performing certain actions every day at a specific time, it becomes ingrained in your internal clock and your muscle memory to perform those actions.

•If you have to mentally prepare yourself to take care of yourself, that's okay. Make sure to give yourself a time limit though. I'm guilty of saying I'm going to shower and then putting it off for as long as I can. Even once I have my towel wrapped around me, ready to go to the bathroom, I'll find an excuse not to that usually involves laying in bed. Give yourself a space of up to 15 minutes to laze around before you brush your teeth, change your clothes, go to bed, etc. It's going to be hard to follow through with this limit, especially when you want to keep doing what you were doing or take a nap, but use that time to give yourself a little pep talk, think of a reward for yourself if you follow through. Be strict with myself is something I'm not very good at, but generally I find the 15 minute prep period works for me, especially before showers. I'll use that 15 minutes to laze in bed for a couple minutes and create a playlist for my shower. I also use the 15 minute rule about working out. If I don't want to go I give myself a little 5 to 10 minute period where I have time to myself before I go to the gym.

•I want to remind everyone that it's okay if you flub up our plan. It's okay if you aren't the best at self care and you don't quite manage your finals week the way you planned. I personally know that when you're feeling stressed and anxious and all you want to do is cry that it's hard to take care of yourself. It's also easy to beat yourself up about bad self care, so I guess my final tip is to be proud of yourself for working your whole way through this semester. Your finals week may be a mess, but you've come thing far, and that proves you're not a quitter. You are strong and smart and soon this incredibly stressful time will be over, and things will be back to everyone's relative normal. If you're not proud of yourself, I'm here to be proud of you.

Good luck to everyone who's getting ready to take finals!