If there’s one thing we as college students all have in common, it’s our hatred of finals. No matter where you go, we just can’t seem to enjoy the holiday season or the newly warming weather before we are reminded of our impending exams.
However, this article isn’t about finals week. I’m here to talk about a special brand of hell: the week before finals. This is the week where teachers all collectively decide to assign last minute presentations and projects that conveniently count for about 30% of your grade. The week you underestimate because “it’s not like it’s finals week or anything.” But oh no, it’s not finals week – at least you get a study period for that. The week before finals in unique in that you have countless exams and projects piled on top of another before you even get to think about your actual finals. Talk about stress.
And who gets stress better than The Good Place’s self-titled “human turtleneck” Chidi Anagonye? Chidi has some of the most relatable moments in the show, and his constant anxiety is pretty applicable to the week-before-finals madness. Here are some moment throughout pre-finals week where Chidi just gets us:
When you try to enter the week with a positive mind frame
Because anything can be fun if you use the right tonal inflection and listen to Legally Blonde’s “Positive,” right?
When you realize how many essays you have in so few days
We’ll never understand why such big assignments have to be so last-minute. Sure, diamonds are formed under pressure, but come on, really?
When the full weight of your upcoming week finally hits you
Leaving campus a few weeks early isn’t seeming like such a bad idea – early holiday break, anybody?
Debating whether or not that computer science class was worth it
Sure you’ve expanded your horizons, but at what cost?
When you realize you’ll never have a social life again thanks to all the work you have to do
Sometimes human interaction just isn’t an option during the five minute breaks you allow yourself while juggling all of your assignments. In moments like these, at least we know we’ll always have our COM 380 textbook for company.
When your roommate quizzes you on lectures from the first weeks of school
How many wild guesses are too many before throwing in the towel?
When your pep talk in the mirror gets too real
Maybe you shouldn’t have waited until the night before to start crafting that presentation? Hey, it happens to the best of us.
When you realize only an evil place would give you this much work before your actual finals
Questioning what kind of college would do this to a poor, unsuspecting student suddenly becomes pretty valid.
When you start to remember facts you kept messing up earlier
Is it weird to hug a flashcard? I feel like it’s warranted in this situation.
When your friend reminds you about that rewrite you have due that you completely forgot about
At some point you just have to assume the professors are making all this up, right?
When your friends try to get you some fresh air
It’s a noble effort, but there’s just no escaping the pressure of the work load. (Thanks for trying, though!)
Finding out some topics stuck with you when you least expected it
There’s nothing more satisfying that nailing that concept you had to keep looking up earlier.
When you attempt to spend time with friends but can’t stop thinking of the barely written Word doc on your laptop
You can’t help it – when all you’ve been doing the past week is writing, editing, and presenting, who can blame you for wondering if you’ll really be able to finish that essay in time for class?
And finally, when your week is over and you’re left in a state of sleep-deprived shock
Does anyone have any real coherent memories of the past week? Who cares – you made it!
This is one of the most stressful times of the year for students, and it can definitely be disheartening to go though all this just to have a week of finals about to begin a few days after. Just remember, you made it this far, and we’re so close to break that it’ll be here before we know it. Holidays and binge-watching, here we come!
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