Let’s be honest—no. There’s not. Every semester, I tell myself, “This is the one. I’m going to be on top of my work, sleep eight hours, eat actual meals, and take study breaks.” And every semester, I end up crying in Evans Library at 12 a.m. with a Celsius in one hand and a cold Chick-fil-A sandwich in the other.
Finals season is just a different kind of chaos. It’s like no matter how organized you think you are or how early you start preparing, something always goes wrong. Either nobody in your 15-page group paper can meet, your laptop decides to crash mid-paper, or you realize you haven’t started studying for the one class you actually need to pass. I’ve lived it. And I’ve come to the conclusion: there’s just no way to truly stay “healthy” and “balanced” while your GPA is on the line and you haven’t done half the readings since spring break.
Sure, you can try the self-care routine—go on walks, eat fruit, romanticize studying—but let’s not pretend that doesn’t last two days max. After that, it’s survival mode. You’re running on caffeine and the hope that your professor curves the final. Sleep schedule? Gone. The only thing keeping you going is the fact that summer break is sooo close.
And I will say, there’s something kind of comforting about knowing we’re all going through it together. Like, everyone is unwell. You’ll see people you haven’t talked to all semester suddenly posting study guides on their stories or asking for the Quizlet link in group chats. I swear I’ve never felt closer to strangers than when we’re all half-asleep at Evans pretending we understand the review sheet. At that point, it’s less about thriving and more about making it out alive. At this point, that shared chaos is the only thing holding me together