It’s possible to treat yo’self AND do well during finals week. I am living, breathing proof of this. Self-care and acing your finals are not mutually exclusive!
Last winter quarter, I went to Anaheim for a few days during week nine to watch the UC Davis men’s and women’s basketball teams play in the Big West Tournament. (This is not me telling you to skip class; there is a point to this story). I left on Thursday at 3 AM on a huge bus with my best friend, and we came back Saturday in the middle of the night on the same huge bus with the same driver. We watched the sun rise from the bus, we drank Starbucks, and we cried of laughter. And that was just the trip there!
This trip gave me anxiety for weeks because I am never one to miss class. I am anti-risk, extremely organized, and neurotic about my grades. But, I knew in the back of my head that it was something that I would regret not doing. And I was right, because it was the best weekend of college I have ever had.
I watched basketball for free at the Honda Center, stayed for free in a hotel with my best friend, got to see my ENTIRE family who traveled from San Diego to see me, and ate Wendy’s in bed. A dream night.
But what is the point of this narrative? This trip tested my responsibility and organization and ultimately made me feel prepared for finals because I had to intensely schedule my study time and stick to it. Scheduling my exact times to study left room for me to have fun and go out to dinner, go to basketball games, and explore the town. While this happened to be far, far away from Davis, you can do the same things right here in Davis.
Scheduling study time allowed me to also schedule time for fun. In fact, I think having fun with my friends and family actually made me more motivated to study and get my work done.
Because of this experience, I would say instead of taking a break with TV, get up and do something to really treat yourself. Get some frozen yogurt with extra chocolate chips (calories don’t count during finals, duh). Walk around with some friends. LAUGH. This trip is my favorite memory of college, and it was right before finals. I don’t remember the stress, I remember the fun. And I did well on my finals because the fun motivated me to be successful.
So the moral of the story is that it is possible to have memorable (and responsible) fun, as long as you plan some time to study. Your brain can only take so much.
Do it. It’s possible. Just “treat yo’self” dammit!!!