“So how’d your finals go?”

It doesn’t matter

Finals week (according to Urban Dictionary):

“The worst week of a college student’s life. It involves pulling multiple all nighters to reverse the months of slacking that have killed their grades. Finals week involves a lot of stress, and very little sleep. The student will be on edge the entire time, thus it is not a good time to screw with them. “

So it’s that time of year again. Finals. A time where the only thing we can think about is the future of our GPA. Through all of the stress, it’s easy to forget why we came to college in the first place. Some people can probably relate to the explanation above, but I wouldn’t say it applies to everyone. For me, personally, I don’t slack off the entire semester and then try to make up for it all with one test. You can’t really get away with doing that, no matter what anyone says. Most people try a little throughout the semester, and then realize if they do well on the final they can raise their C to a B or even an F to a C.

However, after this semester I began asking myself…why does this matter so much to all of us? Of course we want to do well in all of our classes, and if we fail we’ll be really upset, which is normal, but why do we let these exams, essays, and presentations define who we are?

So you failed that final essay in English? Don’t sweat it. Even Shakespeare was criticized for his writing. So you didn’t do well on your Algebra exam? Remind yourself that even Albert Einstein faced his struggles. Or maybe you were way too nervous for your presentation and completely forgot everything you were going to say…You should know that even the world's most successful people, such as Steve Jobs, were terrified of public speaking and struggled to overcome it.

“One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.” -Napoleon Hill

This semester was definitely a test against my confidence in my abilities and myself. I’m not going to lie, I really doubted myself for a little while. However, I snapped out of that fairly quick and reminded myself why I am here.

I didn’t decide to go to college because I looked forward to stress eating, drinking, and not sleeping for long periods of time just to do well on one exam or project. No, I decided to go to college because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, grow as a person, and have the ability and resources to pursue my dreams. All of which I believe I have done and will do.

“Low self-confidence isn’t a life sentence. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered–just like any other skill. Once you master it, everything in your life will change for the better.” – Barrie Davenport

I threw myself into college, got involved, and didn’t know one single person. That was out of my comfort zone. After studying abroad last summer, again out of my comfort zone, I saw so many other cultures and people and definitely grew as person. Through that experience, I learned so much more about myself. Once I graduate college next December, I believe I will have all of the knowledge and resources I need in order to pursue my dreams and I know that the one or two (or maybe 3) bad exam scores will not determine how successful I will be after graduation.

So you haven’t aced every exam you’ve taken? That’s OKAY. You are not that exam, and whom you are as a person is not a letter grade and can’t be scored. That final grade will not determine how successful you are in your life, and although it may seem like the world is against you at times, you will overcome it. You will be successful no matter what that final grade shows.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

Remind yourself that everything will always workout in the end, and do NOT doubt yourself. Remind yourself that you decided to get a higher education for a reason, and keep reminding yourself of that reason until you have accomplished your goals. Don’t let the stress of “finals week” tear you down, and as Chancellor Hance at Texas Tech says, “dream no little dreams.”

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