This past week I had two final exams, one for my Number Theory class, and the other for my Ordinary Differential Equations class. I have never been one to stress over an exam, nor am I someone who spends time studying for such things as I firmly believe there are better things to worry about than maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I don’t know how other universities do it, but the City University of New York (kindly?) gives students a reading day prior to the beginning of finals week. This day is supposed to be a day to prepare for finals.

I took this day off to go watch a hockey game at the Barclay’s Center, in Brooklyn NY. I watched the New York Islanders faceoff against the Washington Capitals. This was my second hockey game and I do not follow the sport all that closely, however I do find it entertaining. I was not surprised to see that my friend and I were the only Hispanics in attendance as this sport is hardly advertised in my community.

I noticed there is different ‘culture’ that exist in this type of sporting event. I’ll compare it with basketball. When I go to watch a Nets game at Barclay’s, the atmosphere is pretty dead, largely in part because the team is an abomination and is going through a rebuilding process. However, there is more, when the Nets play, you hear a lot of hip hop being played at the venue, while when the islanders play I did not hear a single hip hop song played.

The game was long, and it was very cold. After each goal the crowd began a chant that looked like a spoof of the ‘woo’ chants from the Nature Boy Ric Flair followed by the ‘yes’ chants that former WWE wrestler Bryan Danielson popularized. The Islanders lost 3-2, but it was a great experience, the building was full and the game helped me prepare for my exam by giving me a calm and enjoyable night.

The following day I went to take my exam, fresh off of the previous night. This works for me, however it may not work for you, I will tell you this. There is no way that you can study the material that you were meant to learn during the previous 3 months and cram it up in one night. Going sleepless, studying for hours, and stressing out over exams is not healthy. Go take your exams with a clear mind and do your best, understand that not getting a 100 on the exam will not be the end of the world.