This time of year, everyone in America seems to be busy. From stressed out retail workers to college students studying for finals to families working to prepare their homes for the holidays, it feels like everybody has something to do.

I currently fall into the college student category, and it seems as if everywhere I go I am consumed by some unspeakable force known as "finals week." The amount of people in the library appears to have quadrupled, the clicks of furious typing growing louder and louder, the stacks of books ever-growing, and the sighs of despair deeper as each day goes by. Coffee consumption increases as sleep becomes lesser, and eyes begin to droop during mealtimes.

But really, it's just finals week. Now I know that school is incredibly important and grades matter. Trust me, I value school above most other priorities in my life and am incredibly discipline about homework and studying. And yes, I do have a lot due in the next week. But in reality, I just can't find it in myself to complain. Because we all do. It will all get done, it always does. And primarily, it's because I believe in reality there are a lot of other things that we as people should complain about. In light of the broken and hurting world around us, finals week isn't that bad.

And what is the purpose behind finals week anyway? If it's only about completing the tasks, living stressed and anxious lives in anticipation of the coming break and maintaining that perfect GPA, then what does that say about the things we really care about?

If studying for finals and writing those papers are only completed just to get the grade, to feel successful, to validate our hard work, then how are we really understanding our lives? Could we somehow make finals week a little less egotistical?

Perhaps I'm being too optimistic or self-righteous, but this year I want to strive to make finals week a little big less about me. When I'm writing my papers, I'll research topics that I care about but know little about. I'll strive to engage with the bigger world around me as I research these topics and develop my theses. As I study, I'll keep in mind those affected by these topics, and think through how I can intermesh what I'm studying with my daily realities.

Most of us will keep our head in the books this finals week. But maybe we could look up once in a while, realize that finals week is just seven days of intense studying, and really just a small piece in some of our lives as we live in the midst of a broken and hurting world.