This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Lutheran chapter.
It is quite easy for most of us to make light of the stress surrounding finals. We post our relatable gifs, hashtags, tweets and snapchats of us falling apart, finding humor in the chaos. While this may make the process easier and give a “We’re all in this together” feel **insert Troy Bolton dancing**, in reality it shows just how much we care. Yes, we will all reach the point of #done in the next few days, but overall we are striving for whatever we as individuals feel we must do to succeed. Please remember, trying is a success in itself. Here are some bits of wisdom to remember your worth; don’t beat yourself up too much, my dear.
- “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm,” (Winston Churchill). To be really successful during finals time, just keep on keepin’ on. Churchill also knows the real meaning of this one…
- “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default,” (J.K. Rowling). Once more, failure is a critical part of life. Even Hermione Granger didn’t get a perfect score every time.
- “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be,” (Shel Silverstein). There will be voices floating in your head and all around speaking of the impossible, but remember…
- “If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning,” (Van Gogh). You may feel like a lowly college student, but just like grass that becomes wheat in the harvest, you are growing, day by day. Van Gogh never knew he would one day be seen as one of the greatest artists of all time, but he just kept on painting.
- “Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit). Just keep pressing on.
- “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education,” (Mark Twain). Test scores and grades do not define your intelligence. As long as you are learning and growing, you are an A+.
- “When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on,” (Theodore Roosevelt). Hang in there – soon enough we can let go and let Netflix.
- “Shoot for the moon; even if you fail, you’ll land among the stars,” (Cecilia Ahern, P.S. I Love You). Don’t be afraid to aim high, but be proud of wherever it is you land.