Finals week is the most stressful time of the year for college students. People are tired, grumpy, getting sick, and consider dropping out of school multiple times per day. It can be hard to lose sight of anything positive when it’s three am and you are elbow deep in marketing textbooks.

College is supposed to be the best four years of your life, but it’s so difficult to keep that in perspective when you want to bash your head into a wall while writing a research paper. So as you start on hour eight in the library, remember this: You are more than your transcript. Your grades don’t define you.

Grades are important. Being successful in your academics is the primary reason to go to college. But they are not the only thing that can bring you success in your future. Sure, that term paper might seem like the end of your life now, but five years down the line, its water under the bridge.

Don’t lose sight of who you are just to try and grab a few extra points on an assignment. Don’t beat yourself up because you completely forgot to study a certain section in your textbook. Remember to take care of yourself and remember why you came to college in the first place.

Education doesn’t just come from textbooks and classrooms. It comes from conversation, from experience, from witnessing, from doing. Every day you are doing something to benefit and supplement your education. That section you forgot to study? A friendly reminder to be more organized next semester. That all-nighter you had to pull before your accounting final? A lesson in time- management.

Finals can seem like the end of the world. I get it. I’ve been there. But it isn’t, and ou will get through it. Make a study schedule now and start. Surround yourself with positive people who will support you, not distract you. Remember to take short breaks during your all-day stay in the library. Take care of yourself. These four years should be some of the best of your life, but they are by no means the only years.