BY GURMEHAR BAJWA / MANAGING EDITOR

We all want to read about Christmas and the holidays, I’m sure. But I unapologetically offer you yet another “How to Tackle Finals” piece; enjoy. 

In my fourth (and still not final) year of my degree, I can confidently tell you – I have no clue how to tackle my finals before they tackle me first. After all these years in school, I have finally managed to theorise that the key is managing your time. But we all knew that; the actual problem is sticking to the management. I started this semester, as did a lot of you I’m sure, with an intricately planned and colour coded schedule complete with all the due dates. I stopped looking at that halfway through the semester, as did a lot of you I’m sure. Today, five days before my final exam, I’m telling myself how I won’t repeat yesterday’s mistakes (if the last 3 years are a reliable precedent, I absolutely will). 

I have also realised there is a not-so-fine line between being delusionally cocky and having a sheer lack of confidence in oneself which is accompanied by self reprimanding for not “doing enough.” I teeter across that line every semester without fail, as do a lot of you I’m sure. The fact is that you have already gotten through the semester, you’re going to get through your finals, this time and the next. Just try sticking to that schedule you made, and if you didn’t, definitely make one – it truly makes all the difference. 

Finally, take it one step at a time. I am guilty (as is my roommate; I have witnessed quite a few breakdowns) of hyper exaggerating situations which make me feel like I’m not in control anymore. For instance, I was struggling to finish a research proposal that was already overdue and that took me on a whole rollercoaster of emotions, ending with “I’m never getting into grad school and will probably die broke.” Joke’s on me, I’m broke anyway – as are a lot of you I’m sure. It is absolutely critical to remind yourself (or ask your roommate to remind you) that it is going to be okay. Finals are not the end of the world, they’re simply the end of a semester. 

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