There’s no way around it: Thanksgiving is over and before we can bask in the month-long bliss that is winter break, we have to survive the dreaded F-word: Finals. As Wake Forest students, we are no strangers to stress and hard work. However, finals week often presents a unique, more intense roller coaster of emotions (consisting mostly of stress and frustration) and students have to use various methods to cope. In our day and age, there is a tried-and-true method of increasing focus, improving mood, engendering inspiration, and producing relaxation. This magical mental cure-all is music. In a time as trying as finals week, students need the perfect playlist which can fit any need and remedy any sour mood. As music affects each person differently, there is no single playlist that will accomplish this for everybody. However, below I have compiled three lists of songs that may help you start your ultimate finals playlist.
Studying.
Your study playlist should consist of chill music without any overpowering vocals that would cause distraction. Here are some laid-back tunes which will keep you from stressing out while allowing you to focus and block out the surrounding world.
“Space Song”- Beach House
“Cut My Hair”- Mounika., Cavetown
“Perks of Being a Sunflower”- Soft Glas
“Beach Baby”- Bon Iver
“Overflow”- Ghost Loft
“World on Fire”- Louis the Child, Ashe
“Temporary Love”- The Brinks
“Ghost”- Aquilo
“LOVE”- Kendrick Lamar, Zacari
Relaxing.
Setting aside time to relax during finals week is a MUST for your mental health, improving both your mood and your overall performance on tests. This should be a separate set of songs from your study playlist. I’ve found it easiest to unwind through some light indie folk music, also known as the auditory equivalent of a warm bubble bath.
“Call If You Need Me”- Vance Joy
“The Night We Met”- Lord Huron
“Real Peach”- Henry Jamison
“Reno”- Wild Child
“How Are You True”- Cage the Elephant
“Where The Skies Are Blue”- The Lumineers
“Rose of Sharon”- Mumford and Sons
“We Should Get Married”- Sports
“Beach Baby”- Bon Iver
“Library Magic”- The Head and the Heart
Study Break.
During finals week, “fun” may be a word temporarily eradicated from your vocabulary. But it doesn’t need to be. In fact, it’s good to forget about studying for a while and blast a song that makes you feel like you’re driving with the windows down and singing alongside your best friends. These songs, when played in between study sessions, have the unexplainable power to make any mere mortal rise from her seat and dance.
“Say You Want Me”- Lostboycrow
“Water”- Ra Ra Riot, Rostam
“We Stayed Up All Night”- Tourist, Ardyn
“After the Moment”- Craft Spells
“Peach”- Broods
“Put a Light On”- Generationals
“Let’s Stay Together”- William Bolton
“You Taste Like Wine”- The Collection
“Jackie and Wilson”- Hozier
“Goodmorning”- Bleachers
Although finals week produces stress and anticipation, we can do our best to make our lives as bearable as possible until the holidays. This list serves to spark inspiration for your own finals mix that will (hopefully) enable you to survive and avoid complete and utter misery for the week. Happy studying!