This week, students across the nation are preparing for finals or are in the process of taking them. Finals week is a sort of whirlwind of academic rigor that no one wants to go through, but we are all forced to do so. Even the week before, we are stressed out finishing up projects, papers, and presentations our professors magically scheduled at the same time. And, not to mention the extracurriculars that also demand your attention at the end of the semester. What do we do to prepare? We tell ourselves we'll work ahead over Thanksgiving break, and that quickly becomes a failed plan, so we will just study hard and sleep later. An important part of finals week mania we can forget to take care of is ourselves.

Here are a list of quotes to help you through finals week and the seemingly mountainous amount of studying you to have to do.

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” – Lao Tzu

I like this quote because it helps you stay in touch with yourself and where you will be when you graduate. It can be hard to see now, but all the hard work and effort you are putting in will pay off. That political science final you are studying for, one day you could be helping create better foreign relations between countries. That lesson plan you are spending copious hours on, you will be glad to have it when you are teaching. These are a few examples, but remember your work and effort contribute to the bigger picture.

“This too shall pass.” – Persian Poem

As finals week has everyone stressed out, sometimes relationships and friendships can become tense, but remember everyone is fighting a battle. Elevated stress levels come with elevated impulsive actions and words, so do not take what people say or do too personally. A friend told me to think of finals as a tsunami where exams need to be handled first, and then when they are over, you can move onto your personal stuff. But, any thing stressing you out, think of it in the bigger picture.

"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could” – Zig Ziglar

Believe in yourself and you will be successful, but we all need a little reassurance. Well, here's your reassurance. I am telling you I believe in you, even if we are strangers, I believe in you. Whatever exam, presentation, or paper you are unsure about, you got this.

"If you were able to believe in Santa Claus for like 8 years, you can believe in yourself for like 5 minutes." - Unknown

Santa was a pretty significant character in most of our lives, so think back to waking up in the middle of the night swearing you heard reindeer on your roof. Or swearing you saw Santa in your living room. If you believed Santa was literally in your house like I did, then you can believe in yourself writing a paper or studying for an exam.

"How cool is it that the same God, who created mountains & oceans, & galaxies, looked at you & thought the world needed one of you too?" - Unknown

Even if you do not believe in God, realize that you are on this earth for a reason and a purpose. Though the purpose probably is not the be freaking out over exams and papers, these small steps to your big journey of life will someday make sense. This world is full of people and somehow you ended up here, fascinating.