Your guide to surviving finals at Rutgers

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for everyone except college students, that is. Finals never fail to make us into these red-eyed, sluggish, food-grubbing creatures. Perhaps we eat so much because we know we may not be able to afford it later if we don’t pass exams.

Whatever the case, it leaves us oh so close to the edge of our mental cliff. Before you say “screw it” and choose to drop out, here’s some advice to make your life during finals a lot easier.

The secret is to just give in to your desires.

You want to curl up in fetal position and cry?

You do you. Go to a place you can cry without having to shamefully wipe away the tears. My personal favorite is the shower, but it can also be into your body pillow or bae’s arms. Whip out the pink tissues and cry until you run dry.

Then, get to work. You’ll feel relieved and actually be able able to focus on the task at hand. Clouding your mind with dark thoughts while attempting to study is just a recipe for disaster. Let the rain pour and surely a rainbow will appear.

Eat like you haven’t seen food in years

Food is of the best kind of comfort. Whether you take the all-fried everything approach or call Ben and Jerry your best friends, it’s all good. Take a break from counting the calories for just a few weeks. You really don’t have the time to think about whether you forgot to add in those peanuts you ate after lunch. You need the energy to work.

Inspire yourself to get up early and study by planning the most delectable breakfast possible. Enjoy some bonding time with just you and your study materials in the dining hall early in the morning. Having an endless supply of food and a few other silent, stressing students beside you is the perfect setup for a productive time.

Don’t be afraid to tell your friends to STFU

They’ll understand. Friends are awesome, but they’re also some of the most distracting people in your life, especially if you live with them. It’s okay to have a group study session going, but it has to be the right kind. Don’t take the “we’re all just gonna sit here with our papers in front of us, but keep talking to each other as if it’s a normal day” approach.

That only wastes your time and raises the likelihood of failing. Focus on your work and if someone keeps interrupting, you can choose one of two options. Politely tell them to be quiet or go study by yourself. And please, don’t be that chatterbox.

Remain positive by constantly reminding yourself it could be worse

So you have six final exams to study for? At least it’s not seven. When you start thinking the universe has something against you, remember everyone else is thinking the same thing. The students working two jobs on the side can say they have it worse, but there’s always someone working three jobs and is worse off than them.

You’ve been awake for three days and you just ran out of energy drinks? Buy more and be thankful your stomach hasn’t already been overwhelmed from all of the caffeine you’re feeding it.

Take a break

At the end of the day, you’ll be doing a lot of studying. There’s just no way out of that. But, the human mind can only absorb so much information at once, so don’t burn yourself out. When your head is pounding and the words on the page are starting to look like meaningless lines, then congratulations, you’ve hit the cut-off point.

Finals season is supposed to be spent studying, but there’s no such thing as studying without study breaks. Stop, eat with some friends and jokingly laugh about how you have no future. It’s okay to stop and give yourself a pat on the back.

Good luck with finals, RU. You’ll be just fine.