Studying for Finals.

The holidays are finally upon us, lights are everywhere, Christmas trees are being set up, and tons of shopping is being done. I absolutely love the holidays, and the cozy feeling everyone has around this time of year. There is honestly no better feeling than coming in from the cold and rain, to change into festive pajamas, grab a cup of hot tea and read a good book. 

Who doesn't love just staying in bed, and watching holiday movies? Or baking Christmas cookies?

I know that I sure do!

It's the beginning of December and what better time to start doing all of those things?!

Well, not right now actually...

It's the beginning of December, and it's also the end of Autumn quarter for me. Which means papers are due, project and presentation dates are upon us, and finals week is just around the corner. Basically, I'm a ball of stress, trying to handle everything all at once, trying not to lose my mind, and trying to somewhat continue living on with my regular life....whilst studying harder than ever before.

Originally this was going to be a post, with a couple of useful studying tips, but than that quickly change. Who am I kidding? I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm just trying to get myself through the next week and half, hopefully by passing all of my classes.

So many bloggers and youtubers, have "Helpful Study Tips" but in all honesty they are pretty much the same thing. Highlight important things in the textbook..blah, make note cards, blah blah, & take a break occasionally blah blah blah.

We all know how to do those things; those are all given and so obvious.

Also I feel like giving studying tips is strange and hard to do. There are so many different courses, every class is different, and teachers provide different types of tools. You can't honestly give "Helpful Studying Tips", without them being completely generic.

If you want to know what I do to prepare myself for finals week, its pretty easy. I skim the chapters from the textbook (if the class has a textbook), I go over my class notes and from those create note cards (only if the exam will be conceptual), and I also work practice problems (if the class is mathematical). 

Besides that, my teacher provides office hours, so if I have any questions I can go there and get them answered. My school also provides tutors, workshops, and finals week study sessions, so I sometimes attend those as well.

If I'm really lucky, professors will even layout the exam for us, provide a study guide to follow, or even hand out practice exams. Most professiors will also have a review session during the last class before finals, but some also don't.

My two tips for studying for finals, is to take advantage of everything, and to continue pushing through, no matter how hard things seem. Go to office hours, attend study sessions, meet with a few classmates and go over the material. Take advantage of all of those resources, they are incredibly helpful!

We all know how difficult and stressful finals week can be, but just keep pushing through, it's only a few days. Take a few deep breaths, and organize yourself. Layout everything out, and find a starting point. Continue pushing through, and don't lose that drive. If you need coffee or a redbull to help you get through, do it.

So I've been rambling on for a while now, and I have a stack of things that need to get done sitting next to me, so I'll end this blog post here. I hope you all study hard, and do amazing on your final exams! I'll be crossing my fingers!