Guest perspective
Featuring Mario Rizo
Finals can be a very stressful and scary time for students.
I think the most important thing you can do is focus on managing your time efficiently. Set priorities. High school students can have so many different things going on at once outside of school work. Sports, music, campus clubs, work, family commitments and friends take up so much of students’ time, it could leave very little time for homework and studying.
If you truly have your goals set on getting the best possible grades you can, you have to set your school work as your top priority. So before you reach for your cell phone to click on your favorite social media app or video game, ask yourself: “Self…Have I finished my homework yet? Self…Do I feel like I can ace the final if I took it right now?”
If the answer is no, then you better not reach for that phone. You better reach for your book or class notes and start studying. Unless you are the next coming of Albert Einstein, you need to study to get a good grade on the final. Usually, the harder the class you take, the harder the final is going to be, and the more you have to study.
It’s a good idea to organize your study time. Get a weekly planner, and begin setting time aside to study for particular classes. If you have friends in those classes, set up study sessions at someone’s house, coffee shop, or library. It can be very energizing to have others that are going through the same things you are study with you.
That being said, don’t study with someone you know to be distracting. Bad idea. You don’t need an extra ball and chain holding you back and wasting your time. Surround yourself with others that share the same desire to knock these finals out of the park.
Don’t forget to eat. Food gives us energy. And no, I’m not talking about Hot Cheetos or Takis. Eat some real food that will fuel your late-night study sessions. If you get tired, and you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, take a power nap for like an hour. Set your alarm, nap, then keep studying when you feel refreshed. You don’t want to be so tired that you are not retaining any information.
You want to put yourself in the best possible situation to succeed on these finals. Ultimately, if you feel that you have put the hours in, and have studied as hard as you could, that’s all you can ask for.
And no matter what the results, you should feel at peace knowing that you left it all out there, and you did your best.