The end is near...

Of the school year, that is. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm in the last week of my sophomore year of college and it is a tad stressful. Just a little. I figured that no matter what level of education you, my darling readers, are at, you could all benefit from a little list of finals coping mechanisms. My posting has been sporadic lately, and will only improve once I get all of this stuff wrapped up! Only a final journalism project, Western Civ II. final, Russian cultures final, and Russian language final stand in my way!

Anyways, I'm a firm believer that when you're working hard, you really deserve to help yourself out and not suffer too much. So, here's my list of
Nice things to do for yourself whilst in the violent throes of final exams:

Start studying prior to the night before, especially if it's a cumulative exam. Cramming really sucks, and I just don't function well after all nighters. Try your best to sleeeep. I am totally guilty of scrimping on sleep, but I want to actually try to get some quality hours in so I'm in decent mental shape for finals.

Buy yourself some good food. It is inevitable (at least in my world) that when studying for big exams I will have some kind of momentary break down and want to eat a bunch of donuts or cheese pizza or something. Keep easy and at least marginally healthy snacks on hand that you can take to the library that actually help your body rather than making you crash thirty minutes after consuming.

Plan something fun for your summer! What lies ahead after final exams is an infinite sea of possibilities: Summer! Whether you start planning something small like a whole day of thrifting with a friend, or something extensive like a full on road-trip, that little shred of hope that something great is just around the corner may be enough to keep you going.

Do something nice for your exterior. Your brain is going into over-drive, so while you are torturing yourself inside, you could try to keep the outside looking fly. I always feel a little better about things when I feel good about how I look (am I shallow? No, I just love fashion). I find that wearing an outfit I consistently feel good in always helps. I also dig deep conditioning my hair, painting my nails fun colors, and using biore strips. Don't tell anyone?

Work out. It helps to kill some stress, even if you end up looking at your class notes while on the treadmill.

I realize that time isn't really abundant during that period before finals, but all of these are just suggestions that I've found help keep my sanity somewhat intact. Honestly, I think it just helps to make some time for yourself to decompress and do something that makes you happy, regardless of what that may be! Please, add to my list and let me know what you do to keep yourself going during crunch time.