You have pushed all semester through tests, papers, and projects and you’re kinda feeling done, but you also want to finish strong. It’s the struggle before finals, the last few weeks and classes.
But guess what…
You can do this!
Not just because you have to for a good grade.
But because you can.
Because you have come too far to stop now.
Because you deserve the grade you have pushed this far for.
You might feel like collapsing or that you at least need a good break. Thanksgiving may have felt like a tease being away from school, but fuel yourself back up. You really are almost there.
Don’t let the final stretch be your excuse to stop. Cause guess what? The final stretch may be the last part before the end but it isn’t the end. It's the hardest part because you are tired and want to quit.
It's like you’re running this race. It starts with your mind. Your body needs your mind on it first. You have to believe you can get there then you can actually step out and train. Classes are like the training for the finish line or, in this case, the final exam or project. You have prepared all semester for this.
Talk about a metaphor for your life. Maybe college does teach us more than exams and such about how to handle the pressure of the deadline. The exhilaration of that final moment the pencil fills in the last bubble.
That is the moment we want. The moment where we can leave the classroom with at least the peace that it's done and over.
So study now. Prepare now. Push now.
Also, remember to rest and take breaks, too, because you are a human. Runners don’t train by running all day long. We know that, but for some reason us college students tend to cram.
Like our lives depend on it or Starbucks business does when really our grades and brains, might I add, need us to do it in bursts.
It is a marathon, not a sprint.
Ever heard that one? That is a great motto for life but for college. I have come to adore this one because we are really running a race ,but it doesn’t end in 30 seconds. It takes time. It takes preparation, patience, and determination.
Choose to continue and press on. Choose to take moments to help yourself continue… even it's simply taking a nap when you really need it because you are studying with enough time to take one. Plan now. Start now.
What keeps you calm? Listen to your favorite music. Keep in mind the reason why you are in school. Prepare for that moment, so that when it comes you don’t panic. That’s college in a nutshell: Preparation. So learn to prepare well.
1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Run like that.
GET THE PRIZE.
Don’t give up.
Now is when it counts the most.