Finals? I Got This
Ah, Finals Week… I remember you (not so) fondly. When I was an undergrad at Delaware, I was an English major, and a lot of my finals involved long-ass papers with a lot of time to complete them. Now — did that mean I spent my semester wisely, budgeting my hours to complete said papers in a timely manner? Of course not! That didn’t happen until my mid-20s when I went back for my BS in OT and then again in my master’s program when I chose a path with no exams (just lots of independent research). So, as you can imagine, coming back to school and encountering Finals Week yet again has been… not awesome.
My first semester in this PhD program was great: I had two statistics classes where the assignments were spread out evenly over the course of the semester. The beauty was that I had no finals for either class! Awesome! Not this semester, though. As I’m writing this, I have: a three-part individual project involving my CV for my Preparing Future Academics course; a group PowerPoint presentation on Pet Loss for Death and Dying, along with an individual written assignment on what I want when I am dying and when I am dead; a group project involving health literacy for Athletic Training; and an individual PowerPoint presentation on Covid and vectorborne diseases for Microbiology. Those are all IN ADDITION to my many online modules and more that must be completed on a weekly basis for these courses. This is not for the faint of heart, I tell you! I’m nearly 40, and I’m taking finals… I don’t like this one bit.
How am I taking my mind off of my pain and suffering, you may ask? Well, I’ve never exercised more in my life! I’m at Orangetheory literally every day (should say, back at OTF. I was out for a week with what I suspect was RSV — a big thank you to daycare for that one…), and if I’m not there, I’m at our other gym doing all the stairs my legs can handle and running miles to clear my mind. I genuinely enjoy the happy feeling that comes from a good workout, and I love a good sweat!
Another way I try to clear my mind is reading books unrelated to my career choice. Right now, “Survive the Night” by Riley Sager is on my nightstand. I recently bought “We All Want Impossible Things” by Catherine Newman, and “The Family Firm” by Emily Oster is staring at me, demanding to be opened. I have to buy books; I don’t have consistent amounts of time to spend reading for pleasure, so taking out a book from the library ends up costing me as much as purchasing the book due to not returning it until waaaaay after it’s due date (ironically, one of my best friends is a freaking librarian, and another is on the board of her county’s library… shouldn’t I get some kind of VIP status?).
One last — and strangely satisfying — method of taking my mind off looming exams is to clean. Yes, clean, and here’s why: it’s a finite task that has a tangible result. You put your clothes away. Boom — it’s done. Although, if you’re me, putting clothes away leads to pulling all the clothes out of the drawer, trying them all on, deciding if you want them set out or if they need go to away for a bit, then refolding every single item and putting them away. I like tidy! Not that you’d know it if you saw my house at the moment… but if you did see the clutter, you might understand why I’m currently so stressed! But that’s a story for another day.
My fellow students: stay healthy, stay strong, and stay on target. We will get through this. We will OWN Finals Week!