The end of the semester is here and you’re finally on the road to graduation day. Four (or more) years have gone by and you can’t wait to get out in the real world and show off yourself as a strong, independent, career-oriented women. Nothing can get between you and graduation day, right? WRONG. Here’s how to survive finals week and successfully be on your way to graduation.
1. The library will be your new bedroom.
Seriously. Being a super senior comes with super senior responsibilities, so you gotta do what you gotta do. Between your last week of classes, finals, internships, and preparing for final presentations, there is no time to run home. So you have no choice but to make the library your new place of living. Make sure to bring a sleeping bag or comforter, and grab the first sofa chair you see. If you’re feeling extra free spirited, grab the first couch. I know what you’re thinking (ew germs!), but fear not! The school store sells Febreze and Lysol. Be sure to flaunt the weird looks you receive. You’re the new queen of the library, so work it girl!
2. Airborne and zinc tablets will be crucial to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Stock up on your vitamins because your sleep deprivation with decrease your body’s immune system, causing you to get sick. The last thing you want to do is be too sick for your brain to work during finals or have no voice for your last presentation. Stock up on your fruits and veggies, and even though it’s hard, don’t gorge on pizza because this will lead you to my next point.
3. Sweatpants are all that fit you right now.
One of the most famous quotes of our time can now accurately be applied to our day to day lives. The amount of stress, anxiety, and sleep deprivation that affects your body will lead you to 1:00am fried mac and cheese snacks, or a week full of pizza for dinner. For those of you not graduating, prepare yourself accordingly next semester to stay active and stock up on healthy snacks so that you don’t feel as guilty during finals week. The reality is, the more cupcakes and chips you snack on in the middle of the night, the worse you’ll feel when you’re trying to study hard the next day. I suggest packing bags of veggies so you can relieve your stress munchies on those before you hit the high calories.
4. You will have $3 in your bank account.
You thought you were done spending countless dollars on random fees and things for school when you paid for your last semester of college, right? Sorry to say, but joke’s on you! Make sure you have plenty of cash saved up for the end of the semester because you’ll probably have to pay degree fees, group projects, and miscellaneous items that your school will expect you to pay, or threaten you with no degree. As sad as it is, just suck it up and pay it, and be smart about what you spend your cash on over the semester because those shoes you just had to buy will come back and haunt you when you have semester bills to pay.
5. You probably won’t have a graduation outfit until the day before you walk.
Forget looking pretty this semester, there’s absolutely no time! Your hair and makeup don’t matter when you have a stage to walk across. That being said, you probably won’t have time (or money) to shop for an outfit, so plan accordingly in the summer when you’re working. If you’re graduating in the winter (like me), you’ll probably be waiting until the day before graduation to find the perfect outfit. Forget Pinterest, you have to deal with whatever the mall (and time) will offer you.
However, as tough as the semester will be, and stressful the last week of finals is, be sure to remind yourself that you did it! You’re finally on the road to the real world and success! Remind yourself that you finally experienced hard work really paying off. No matter how much you’ll complain and cry, you’ll look back one day and thank yourself. For those of you graduating this semester, congratulations in ending this chapter of your life, and cheers to the next one! Congratulations seniors of December 2016 and 2017!
*All images courtesy of Giphy