Exams. They tend to absorb all of our energy as we anticipate and prepare for them. Whether we begin studying a week in advance, or the night before (and end up having an all-nighter in the library), the stress and anxiety brought upon us by exams needs to be released eventually. Here are some ways to recover from exams before you have to prepare for the next round.
1. Have A GNI (Girls Night In):
Typically frat parties (and parties in the apartments of upper classmen) are the way to go on Friday and Saturday nights, but try just spending quality time with your friends and maybe even have a movie night! You could hang out and watch some classic rom coms like “Clueless,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “The Notebook”.
2. Baking:
Take the spare time you have now to enjoy the relaxing art of baking. Whether you bake chocolate chip cookies or your famous fudge brownies, make some desserts to share with your floor so you can make a happy (and delicious) ending to their stressful week, too!
3. Binge Watch Your Favorite Show on Netflix:
There definitely wasn’t enough time in the week to watch your favorite show, study for all your exams, and still attend class, so now is the time! Give yourself a mental break and dive back into the world of your favorite T.V. show. For me, there’s more than one show. I’ve just started “Grey’s Anatomy” (probably not the wisest decision), “How to Get Away With Murder” is back on, and “Bones” just started again as well. Unfortunately, I can’t even say those are all the shows I watch (just my top three).
4. Go For a Mani-Pedi:
You’ve worked hard over the past week, so treat yourself to a relaxing mani-pedi (or maybe just a mani because we’re poor college students). Round up a couple of your girlfriends and enjoy a fun afternoon together. (There are a couple nail salons less than a ten-minute walk from campus) or opt for a free alternative and give each other mani-pedis.
5. Sleep:
SLEEP! Oh how much I love to sleep! As college students, were lucky if we even get the recommended amount of sleep that normal, functioning adults are supposed to have. But we’ve gotten it down to a science. We’ve skillfully mastered the art of being normal, functioning college students with an average of probably about 5-6 hours of sleep each night (with that being further reduced during exam time). So take a break, relax, and enjoy being able to sleep in before the craziness of life begins again.
Exams are difficult and cause a lot of worry, but we get through them each and every time. So just remember to take a “chill pill” and enjoy all the amazing things college has to offer.