As we say goodbye (and good riddance) to winter quarter, hopefully we can take a moment to relax and go into finals week with a sense that everything will be okay. A great way to do this is to make some time for laughter. In my house, my RA has made a quarterly tradition of this. Every Saturday before finals week, we take a house trip to a comedy venue around Chicago. Although the tradition is new, I’m a big fan of it. Last quarter we saw an Improv Shakespeare show that was put on by 4 men in tights. This quarter we are making our way over to the critically renowned Second City Improv Theater. It’s set to be a blast.
It’s clear that laughter can get you through just about anything. So just go for it! Watch that new episode of the Daily Show, or dig up some old Nickelodeon shows that you used to think were amazing. Better yet, get your friends out of the Reg and make a night of it. Another great idea is to pepper your study time with funny blogs and websites. Some that I always fall back on include Suri’s Burn Book and Texts From Last Night.
However you decide to keep your spirit up for the next week, the important part is that you succeed. None of your friends back home want to hear about how miserable your life has been for the last 10 weeks, so make a point to strike the balance of enjoying yourself and getting work done. If you can make a habit of that, you’ve got it set for the rest of your time here. I’m concentrating on this so heavily because laughter really is the only way I can get through my days. As much as I want to do well in school, I would much rather be happy, and I don’t want to sacrifice the latter for the former. So, this finals season, take time out to spend time enjoying yourself, going out with your friends, and attempting to keep yourself stress free. I strongly believe that you will thank yourself in the end.