It's here. That one week in the semester where college students lose their damn minds and run on one to two hours of sleep at the most: finals week. Many thoughts run through our minds as we cram for that last exam and rush to finish those pesky research papers. We fill ourselves with coffee, Red Bull and whatever else can give us that quick assurance that even though we are tired and broken down, we can make it through. I have come to notice that the emotions students feel during finals week mirror the five stages of grief: denial; anger; bargaining; depression; and acceptance. Here's why:
1. Denial
It is the beginning of the last week of the semester, and your mind is still stuck in Christmas break. You simply do not believe that the semester is over and you should probably stop watching "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" on Netflix and start studying. You tell yourself that it's totally fine, you have three days to study, one more episode can't hurt. Then you look around your room and decide to clean it. Oh, your socks should be organized, too. Then you go through and highlight everything in your notes, because if it's highlighted, then it's important right? You turn on your phone and check every social media you have and end up sending 10 Snapchats with the dog filter to your best friend. Then you look at your unopened textbooks, and the next stage of finals hits you.
2. Anger
You are pissed. You have literally done everything but study and you remember that your final project is due in two days. Then you do the math, and you realize that 30 percent of your final grade is based on the final exam. You need a minimum of a 70 percent to keep your solid B and not plummet your GPA. You rage, you throw your notebook on the ground and start cursing at like its a real person who screwed you over. When you finally calm down, you do the only thing you can think of: You pray to every deity there ever was.
3. Bargaining
You beg and plead with the universe to send you back to the beginning of the semester so you can tell your past self to take better notes and pay attention. You promise that if the final is easy, then you will be nicer to your parents and not ask them for money so much. You become so engulfed in "what if" scenarios, you completely lose track of what you should be doing, which is studying. You begin to realize your faults and how no one is to blame for your situation except you.
4. Depression
You have hit rock bottom. You have completely resigned from reality and decide that you are not smart enough for college and will likely have to drop out. You start looking at applications for food service jobs and figure out how many of them you need to be able to survive. You call your mom and start crying as you tell her you love her and that you are sorry for being such a disappointment. You accept your fate, as crappy as you think it may be.
5. Acceptance
You have stopped stressing and are strangely calm. You've decided that you are going to study as much as you can and whatever happens, happens. These finals will not kill you, you will survive. In the end, your mom will still love you, so it's OK.
