As finals week is upon us, most of us are tense. Things are becoming more difficult to retain, and people are even more stressed about the fact that their GPA is about to plummet, when in reality, it most likely won’t.

However, it’s normal to feel this way. You’re burned out and you feel like anything you do at this point is a lost cause. The fact that the school system has trained us this way is appalling, but that’s another article for another day.

Whenever I begin to feel like this as I do every year like clockwork, I remember some things that help calm me down.

1. You are going to be okay. Yes, it feels like life or death right now, but it isn’t.

2. There is always an alternative, you can always find a solution to your problem.

3. If it’s a difficult class you have struggled with all semester, you probably have been trying hard all along. Nice teachers notice that and give credit to where it’s due.

4. If you don’t have a nice teacher and have drawn the short end of the stick, you just have to pull through. You should be going to their office hours and showing the teacher how much you want that good grade.

5. You can’t get an A in every class. It’s time to accept it.

6. You can do your best, though. That’s really all you can do.

7. You may fail a class or two. That doesn’t mean that you are less of a person.

8. If you do fail the class, it’s okay. You can find a way to retake it, and you can find a way to come out better because of it.

9. Sometimes failure teaches us more of a lesson than success.

10. Don’t kill yourself studying. You can study effectively without frying your brain. It will hurt you more than help you.

11. Don’t pull an all-nighter. They don’t work, I don’t care who tells you. If you study all night, you’re only retaining about two hours of actual studying time. Go to bed.

12. Eat balanced meals. A shot of espresso is not lunch. You cannot retain information when your stomach is eating itself.

13. If your parents are putting pressure on you to do well "or else," remind them of how hard its been on you and explain why. They are your parents, they will love you no matter what you get in Biology. If they want to give you grief, just show them your textbook.

14. Remember that just because the guy next to you studied a certain way, doesn't mean you studied the wrong way. Everyone has their own way of failing.

15. It doesn't matter if Timmy is a genius and got a 98. You're not Timmy.

16. The more people brag about the grade they get, the more they are seeking attention. Try not to be that person.

17. Don't listen to what people are talking about right before the test, it will freak you out. Stalk someone on Facebook instead.

18. You will not get everything in life — that's just how it is. But at the end of the day, if you can say to yourself that you did everything you could do, then it will be okay. You will graduate, you will get a job and your parents will still love you. Just because your teacher is telling you otherwise, doesn't mean anything.

GOOD LUCK!