FINALS Have FINALLY come

At the end of the semester no matter what year you are in school, everybody seems to just relax and kick back... even though school is still going on.

After Thanksgiving break I honestly was ready to just ride out the last two weeks until exams. I figured that I would have PLENTY of time the weekend before exams and the week of exams to study... after all it is not like we even had classes that week and my exams were spread pretty far apart.....

Needless to say I am VERY glad that I kept the pedal to the metal, and cruised through those last few weeks of class. I kept up with all the assignments my teachers gave out and I printed off the final study guides. I tried to do everything that my professors recommended...

I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning cranking out notecard after notecard. I ended up with stacks of color coded notecards that even I did not understand!!

In the end it all paid off. The best advice that I got while preparing for finals was to START STUDYING EARLY!!!! As much as I hate to admit it... it was indeed my mother who gave me that advice. I rolled my eyes and thought she was just being a mom, but when it got to "crunch time" for most people... I was ready to take the exam!!!!

A couple tips that I learned with taking my exams.

#1. Get LOTS of sleep - it may seem like a dorky thing to do... to go to bed at 9 or 9:30 but when you are well rested you will not only keep yourself from getting sick, but you will also keep yourself from falling asleep when you should be studying.... or worse, during your exam

#2. Make sure that you start studying ahead of time - this also may seem dorky, but you won't realize until exam week comes around how EXHAUSTED you are... I know I was glad that I had time to relax since I had already been preparing for my exams.

#3. Make sure you know where your exam room is - lots of professors end up giving their final in a different room... finding the correct building amongst thousands of two story brick buildings is like trying to find a needle in a haystack for us freshmen.

#4. If you are going to go to the library you are going to need a tent so you can camp outside the doors until someone leaves... if you are going to try and get a cubicle you need to get to the library at the crack of dawn!

I tried to do all of these things, and in addition to hours and hours of studying, it did pay off! First semester not only allowed me to meet new people, but it also led me to believe that I CAN AND WILL SUCCEED IN COLLEGE!!