We all need to take a step back and acknowledge our current predicament for what it is: largely unimportant. Finals week, like most of our time in college, is very stressful, but we are adding to the hype by fostering an assumption that is not necessarily true. It is only natural that students bond over their mutual dislike for finals week, but we are supporting this idea that finals week is a nearly unachievable feat both on social media and in interactions with our peers. This is not the case.
Unfortunately, students are unable to put this struggle into context. Though it requires a significant amount of work, most of our careers will require the same dedication needed to succeed in college. Looking at finals week from a new perspective could lessen many students' anxiety.
Finals week is achievable; you need to prepare in order to yield acceptable results. A lack of sleep is a real possibility as well if you are not prepared, but it is not all people make it out to be. This is due to a number of factors.
Humans are susceptible to a need for competition, so it is only natural that students try to outcompete each other, attempting to prove they are the most stressed or tired or have the most tasks to complete before the end of the semester. These students’ time would be better spent on preparing for this dreaded week, instead of complaining about it. Hearing students speak of their “inability to cope” makes the prepared minority feel inadequate, perhaps causing them to search for reasons to be stressed. This is counterproductive and leaves us feeling even less ready for the busy week than before.
Additionally, pity comes into play. When recounting our time in college, we feel as though we can prove our worth and receive sympathy from our parents and friends, who are unfamiliar with our college experience, by emphasizing the stress of college, especially on finals week. This is particularly apparent on social media, where we criticize high school students or individuals who opted out of college for complaining about their challenges because ours must be more severe. In the grand scheme of things, pity is not what we should be looking for. It would be much more gratifying to receive praise for the obstacles we have overcome.
Perhaps a reason we emphasize this stress is to feel connected like a member of a team. I can account for many friends I have acquired from complaining about a class, a professor or even finals week alone. It is this mutual despair we feed with our complaints that not only helps us get through the day feeling like a part of something larger.
These factors all contribute to the overwhelming idea that finals week should be dreaded. In the future, many years from now, I am sure our final exams and the grades we received as a result of them will seem inconsequential and will probably not measure up to the trials of adulthood.
The root of our problematic perception of finals is in our inability to see the bigger picture. Fortunately for us, unless we are in danger of failing all of our classes, grades won’t always matter. It is the connections we make in college and the interests we establish at this age that will have a bigger impact on our future. Rather, the focus should be placed on the return of our education, the material itself, not what our classes add up to in terms of GPA. This isn’t to say that there is no merit in preparing to do well on finals; I am simply suggesting that we are adding unnecessary stress to the issue, which, in turn creates a stigma that does not accurately represent the college experience.
Related links:
We need to talk about campus stress culture
10 ways to do finals week the wrong way
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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