10 Things That Got Me Through Finals

Finals week is finally over! All my final papers, hating myself for not studying for exams sooner, and over-studying for those exams have finally ceased. Now that I'm on winter break until January, it's time to not do anything productive whatsoever and watch lots of netflix. Because that's what responsible adults do, right? But first, here's a look back at the ten things that helped get me through finals week the most:

1. Yoga pants. Because if you're wearing real pants during finals week, you're a saint - and you have your life put together far more than I do.

2. Baggy sweatshirts. When I'm wearing one of these, I like to pretend I have style while I am comfy as hell. Instead, I probably look like Stephanie from Full House. 

3. Sleepytime Extra tea. Not only was my beverage of choice not caffeinated, but it also had valerian in it, an herb that helps you fall asleep more quickly. I want to say that I liked racing against the clock to see how much work I could get done before falling asleep, but it was really just calming enough to make finals more tolerable.

4. Wool socks. I'm not a big fan of shoes (or leaving the house anyway), so I lived in these bad boys. My mom made me a couple pairs that I like to rotate through. I had the warmest feet on campus. 

5. Mr. Sketch scented markers. Okay, okay. I'm going to preface this with the fact that I know I'm an adult... but these markers smell amazing. And I actually used these to study! When I had to memorize facts for my finals, I wrote them down on pieces of paper, colored them in with these puppies, and taped them around my room. I would see them all the time, so I memorized them easily. Here are some of them:

6. Sticky Notes. Not only did these go up around my room to help me memorize things for my finals, but they also reminded me to return textbooks to the bookstore. Exciting, right? College is the most exciting time of your life. Trust me on this.

7. Chinese Takeout. Once people started leaving after their exams, the dining hall made less and less food... And it was usually awful. My friends and I would try to use up our meal swipes, but would then go and order food at around 9. Pass the plain lo mein, please. 

8. A pretty mug. Sometimes the best part of your day is drinking something lovely from a mug you really like. I drank a lot of tea during finals week, and there's just something really nice about holding a warm mug while complaining about life with your roommate. 

9. Fuzzy Blankets. Because finals and the future are both terrifying. Blankets are great because you can snuggle up with one when you need comfort, or you can hide under it when you want to get away from the world. Sometimes my roommate and I hid under ours together. Finals during senior year can really ruin a person.

10.  White wine. We went through a good deal of "homework wine" this week. One of my favorite memories with my roommate was up the both of us trying to open a bottle of wine - one of us trying to screw down with a broken corkscrew, then one of us holding the bottle on the floor and the other holding it between our feet while trying to pull the cork out. We are strong independent women who don't need no man to help us, but we should probably work on our upper body strength a little bit.

That's all on my end! Hope your finals went great, and have a happy winter break!

Em