Mid-October. It’s been described as a happy time of year, from the leaves falling and chilly nights, to pumpkin-flavored everything to Halloween approaching. But for many college students, October is also a very stressful time of the year for one reason: midterms. From the moment college students see that word on their syllabus on the first day of classes, they start to feel just like this:
Midterms are incredibly stressful time for everyone, and the amount of midterms a student can have can range from just one paper, to a test every day and then a paper due the next week. After a long, stressful week, many college students are ready to breathe a sigh of relief and actually have some fun for the first time in a while. But what if the stress of midterms is leaving you anxious about your grades? Or, what if you didn’t do so well on one of your midterms and you know it’s worth a big chunk of your grade? Here are some tips to help you bounce back after a stressful few weeks!
1. Take a long walk
After spending days in your room or the silent floor of the library studying your brain cells out for your Econ exam and typing up your ten page Literature paper, you need some fresh air. Put your books aside, grab a friend, and take a nice, long stroll either around campus, Georgetown, or wherever else you feel relaxed. If you feel like you just want some alone time after being so stressed from studying, grab your phone and your earphones and listen to some relaxing jams as you walk.
2. Talk to your professors
It’s that dreadful day of getting your midterms back, and even though you stayed up until four am studying every single night and you felt super confident, you didn’t end up getting the grade that you felt you deserved. If you’re midterm grades have you feeling down, try going and talking to your professors! They can give you tips on how to makeup for a midterm you made have not done so well on, and give you tips on how to tweak your study methods for the final. They know what a stressful time this is for all of us students, so they want to do whatever they can to help you succeed.
3. Do something fun!
Since midterms can basically consume a students life for a long period of time, they often find themselves missing their valuable free time that they had before midterms even got started. Now that they are finally over, take a brain break and do something fun! Hang out with friends on the quad, watch a funny movie, read a non-school related book, or binge-watch all the episodes of your favorite show on Netflix that you may have missed while studying for your exams. Midterms can take an incredible toll on many people, so it’s important to take a step back from schoolwork at times and give yourself some time for yourself to do the things you love.
4. Get some exercise
Another great tip for bouncing back after finals is to workout! It’s a great opportunity for you to clear your head, listen to some great music, and get a good workout in after sitting at a desk for hours and hours studying. Don’t want to go to the gym by yourself? Grab your roommate or a bunch of friends from your floor and have a “we survived finals” gym session!
5. Remember, you will survive!
Midterms can be an incredibly hard time for everyone, so if you’re feeling stressed, tired, overwhelmed, or all of the above, I can guarantee that you are not alone. Everyone knows how stressful surviving finals can be, but we’re all in the same boat so we will help each other to survive! Relax, take some deep breaths, put on your Spotify or Pandora pump up playlist, and push through those midterms because soon, they will be over and you can reward yourself with some free time and some Halloween candy.