Tea and Time by Meghan

Tea and Time by Meghan - May 2016 Scholarship Essay

I am no stranger to finals, having been in Running start for 2 years now. However, it took me 1 year to find my perfect harmony of studying. I always hated studying, could never focus for very long and I was/am a procrastinator. This is not a good combination. For the first year I ended up waking up early to cram my before the exam and crossed my fingers that I passed. Now, I have a study system that truly works for me.
The Week Before: If you know a test or a final exam is coming up, start reviewing your notes now, it will help so you don’t cram an entire quarter or semester into one night, and better space out the information. I start on day one by reviewing a few chapters, then the next day work on the next few, and then the next few, and so on so forth. Maybe schedule a study session with a few classmates to work out anything you don’t understand.
The Night Before: Ok, so the night before jitters begin. You start worrying about the next day. For me, I could never sleep and would keep myself awake the entire night, resulting in exhaustion the next day and bad test taking. In order to help with this, I drink tea with honey. This helps to relax the nerves in the brain and create a more peaceful sleep.
Before you go into a restful sleep though, don’t forget to do last minute studying. As you sip your tea, review your notes again, or at least half. When you’re sleeping, your brain discards un-important information and information you don’t use. By reviewing your notes before you sleep, your brain will keep that information and it will process it as you rest.
You can also set your alarm early
The Morning of: This is it! The day of the test has finally come! Hopefully you slept well and you’re ready for the test. However, take one more look at those notes and drink some orange juice before starting your day.
The orange juice helps to wake you up (Especially if you’re not a morning person, like me.), but it has other benefits as well. Orange juice has important vitamins that can help your memory as well. When reviewing your notes once again can help to recovery the night before information.
Test Time: So, the time has come and you have studied and studied and studied. You know the material, so there is no reason to be anxious. Take a deep Breath and begin. You will you do Awesome!
By using these techniques, I have been able to keep relaxed before, during, and after the test resulting in better grades because I am not cramming or stressing. I study the material over and over, making me comfortable with my knowledge. Also, by drinking tea or orange juice while studying helps to improve my confidence in myself. Although this is my happy medium to creating a calm yet effective process, yours may be different and you should try to find what works for you. Good luck on that next test!