Finding Peace During Finals Week by Allison

Finding Peace During Finals Week by Allison - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

Before our first finals week in college, my dorm had an all hall meeting to talk about our upcoming winter break. We talked about checking out with our R.A., our community chore, making sure our rooms were clean, and when we had to leave and when we could come back. Then our R.D. told us a study tip. “For every twenty minutes you study,” Kim told us, “take a five minute break.” It was so simple I almost doubted its worth, but it has become a study habit that I could never do without.

We wore t-shirts and comfy sweat pants, cuddled together in blankets, giggled, and gave each other back rubs. More than one hundred girls all gathered in a crowded lounge anxious to get home and nervous about the finals they had to face. Somehow Kim got us to calm down. She told us how taking a quick break helped us remember more, wished us good luck on our finals, and then we all dispersed- some to bed, some to drink coffee for the long night of studying ahead.

Though I am sure Kim’s method does help with memorization and has other scientific benefits, I have found it calming. That first week of finals as a freshman, I didn’t follow Kim’s advice. I couldn’t justify even a five minute break when I had piles of notes I still needed to go over. But now I use it to keep my sanity, to remind myself there is a world outside finals. About twenty minutes of studying passes and I will stop to listen to two songs. Sometimes I check Facebook. Sometimes I chat with friends. Sometimes I read as many pages of a novel as I can. And sometimes I will lie on my bed and for five minutes enter a world in my head where exams don’t exist. Then I will be ready to dive into my books again.

Taking small, five minute breaks has helped me keep my focus. It has forced me to realize the need for studying and the need for rest, because I have found both are required to do well on exams.