slaniF

I do a lot of my worst work during finals. I don’t believe that I’m alone in this regard. Finals are supposed to be representative of everything that has been learned over the course of the term, but they usually fall short in assessing this. When I have three or so major projects to work on it is very difficult for me to really get interested in any of them. I generally do my best to strongly incorporate my voice in my academic writing- I like to think that I’m giving my professors a much needed break from the monotony of grading another loosely constructed appeal to legalize marijuana from the perspective of a student whose personal motto is “’C’s get degrees.” However, at the end of the semester my voice can sound pretty similar to that of these wannabe nihilists. Like everybody else I constantly attempt to raise my spirits by thinking about how quickly summer break is coming.

It’s much easier to care at the beginning of the semester. The first few assignments and tests set the pace for the rest of your year. It’s important to do well on these both to give yourself some breathing room for your grade and also to establish good standing with the professor. After a certain point the work tends to matter less and less. It’s easy enough to finish the assignments once they’ve become a part of your routine and as long as you keep up on the readings and lectures you’ll probably do well on them. When you only have one or two projects left the uncertainty that motivated you in the beginning of the semester has diminished. The focus shifts from establishing what needs to be done to keep up in a class to an assessment of where your previously earned grades leave you. Knowing the grade that you’ve earned throughout the semester with only one grade left to compute makes it easy to determine the maximum and minimum grade that can be earned in a particular course. When I look back at my old schoolwork I can usually tell what point in the year an assignment was completed. The differences between writing from the perspectives of “I would like to get a 4.0 this semester”, “I couldn’t possibly get an A if I aced this paper” and “I could totally fail this and still get an A” is painfully obvious.

The other problem with the end of the semester is that most people are having a lot less fun. Human beings simply do better work when our spirits are high. Writing done in contempt is visibly worse than writing done with enthusiasm. College is unreasonably expensive, and it’s important to complete your work and to do well at it, but what’s the point if you're miserable the whole time?

I spend a lot of time in the library during finals, but I make sure that I enjoy my time spent away from the stacks as well. Working hard and being miserable don’t necessarily walk hand in hand. Never forget to relax- personal tension will show in your work.

Get some sun. Drink some beer. Wreck some exams.