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| Panorama taken by me at the local library |
The idea of final exams seem just that: final. The word lends itself to panic and thoughts of doom and destruction uncontrollable by the student. I know in my case, finals are when I realize just how important those five point assignments were back in September, or how little of AP Statistics I truly understand. Looking back on my first set of finals my freshman year of High School (I'm currently a senior) I suppose I thought they would only get easier as the semesters went on. Yet here I am, upon what I hope to be my last set of finals in high school, just as panicked as I was in 2012. I feel slightly more prepared, and slightly more anxious, but perhaps that's just the 3 cups of coffee I've had so far today.
Perhaps the most daunting aspect of finals is the idea that you're about to pull together five months of knowledge into one exam, project, or paper, and it's going to count as 1/5 of your semester grade. You have absolutely no control over what happens after you click send, or turn back your Scantron, all thats left to do is refresh the online grade-book compulsively until your pointer finger falls off. I promise it will be okay. Your fingers will not fall off (unless we get another polar vortex then I make no promises) and the world will not end.
Please join me in a toast (of a caramel macchiato) to kick off Hell Week right:
Here's to the late nights and near caffeine overdoses (yes it's possible, please be careful folks!). The endless typing, highlighting, and of course, perpetual fear that you're not good enough.
Cheers!
I completely agree Jordan. After four years one would think I'd have figured out how to actually prepare for a final, but alas that is not the case. Our Spanish oral final still had me shaking and my heart pounding, just like it did when I was a freshman. If anything, I almost feel like finals have gotten worse over time, because you know exactly what you're about to face. Obviously I don't mean the questions, but the format for finals is always the same, and the pressure surrounding them is unrelenting. I was talking to freshmen yesterday in Peer Group and they all seem terrified to be venturing into this great unknown, I wish there was something I could do to assuage their fears, but I have to admit I'm just as afraid as they are. Hopefully we all emerge from this round of finals unscathed.
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