Tis’ the Season. The season of Gingerbread houses, snow, Christmas trees, hot chocolate, presents, and best of all, no school. However, nothing worth having comes easy. Before indulging in everyone’s favorite holiday, students must tackle the hardest part of the semester: Finals.
All students know what the approaching Christmas Season means, which is that another season is also approaching: Finals season. The world “finals” strikes fear and dread in the hearts of all students. The one week of testing that will determine one-seventh of one’s overall grade. Listening to the teacher’s warnings about the upcoming finals only worsens the anxiety.
Sophomore Rihannan Fisher says, “I think just preparing for the finals, not the finals themselves, is the stressful part.”
“Doing bad on your final could easily bring you down a letter grade or to an A or A- for example is stressful,” Freshman Sammy Huynh says.
The weeks full of studying and cramming leading up to finals only add to the worsening dread. With Christmas right around the corner, students must first get through one of the hardest parts of the school year.
“Giving a final over stuff we never talked about/ not caring about our mental health or how we feel during the week of finals and we literally have 7 classes and have to take a final over almost every one gets so stressful,” Junior Savannah Garner says.
This often leaves many students asking themselves the question, “How do I survive this testing season and make it to winter break?”
It’s not as hard as some students may think. From something as simple as organization, to meditation techniques, there are many ways that students can help from being too stressed during the testing season.
Stress management can be as simple as writing tasks down. Even though seeing all the day’s obligations written down on paper can be overwhelming, it often helps students tackle their problems more efficiently. Making a To-Do list is a simple organizational skill that can work wonders for some.
As Instagram-worthy as it may sound, practicing self-care is shown to help reduce stress and clear thinking in times of stress. Self-care can help clear the mind, and is good for mental and physical health.
Junior Sarah Jones says, ”[I help to not stress as much by] listening to music, praying and reading my Bible, breathing techniques for quick relief, taking a break from everything, taking care of myself.”
The saying misery loves company is not just a saying. Sometimes finding a study buddy can help reduce stress and feelings of isolation. Having a study buddy can also help make studying more enjoyable.
Shyann New says she stays relaxed during testing by talking with her friends helps her to relax before tests.
Another tip is don’t get too loaded up with work to the point of getting overwhelmed. Set aside 5-10 minutes every few hours for a brain break. Setting some time aside to take a break and reset mentally is good for the mind. Studies have shown that taking a short break during studying can help improve thinking and clear the mind and improve concentration.
Finally, do not be afraid to ask for help. Everyone has rough and stressful times, and your friends and family will be happy to help you out in your time of need. Asking a friend or a parent to help you study will help take the stress off of your shoulders.
New Castle Students gave their input for what the administration could do to help make finals not as stressful. Fisher says, “Make it a more relaxed environment instead of making students feel overworked.”
Other students say that teachers assigning review games such as Quizlets, Gimkits, Booklet, and CoolMath Games would help them feel better prepared for finals. Student’s say that if they could have things such as snacks and fidget toys would help them decrease their anxiety for tests as well.
Hopefully, some of these techniques will help make this year’s testing season a little bit less stressful. Instead of focusing on the stress of finals, focus on the Holiday season as winter break are just a few short weeks away.
