Worrisome faces with knotted eyebrows and wrinkled foreheads of students start residing inside their favorite coffee shops, a venue that has become the intersection of home and school. A compromise of lifestyle fashioned by comfy attires, faithful hoodies, and tons of coffee cups is the usual go-to place in the not sought after, dreadful prolonged week of agony – finals week.
Lasallians are known to have skill and expertise on the field of multi-tasking and procrastination. Stress and being under pressure is a daily toil experienced by the student population but sometimes cramming for finals is not the only option.
When asked about their pre-finals rituals, Lasallians answered with sheer diversity, answers varying from silly doses of food intake, ordinary study habits and down to interesting out-of-this-world routines. Take a peek into what your fellow students do to prepare for the most dreaded and prepared week of each term.
Food Feast
Eating has always been seen as something necessary whenever difficult times are fast approaching. It is a means of acquiring the energy you need and can somehow affect your performance on a certain predetermined activity.
Eating her favorite foods such as junk foods, pizza and pasta is what Jeline Malasig (III, AB-LIM) usually does. The same goes for Jen (IV, BS-CPE) who believes that eating her favorite food and at the same time studying helps her to be ready just in time for finals. This ritual is way different than the popular daily dose of caffeine. Bringing satisfaction on one’s heart is what it entails, unlike the coffee which helps to pull an allnighter. It also makes a person feel sheer happiness by fulfilling one’s appetite just because of eating his or her favorites. This then leads to a light feel-good atmosphere while studying for an exam.
For Kelly (II, BS-MKT), she preferably drinks tea instead of the popular coffee. “..I drink tea to keep my brain functioning during the dead hours of the night. Tea never makes a cranky zombie out of me in the mornings,” she explains.
According to the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, tea, specifically green tea has been found out to boost memory and cognition. Research says, “[there is] an increase in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex-an area of the brain associated with working memory, which you need for problem solving and focus.” Moreover, it also speeds up the supply of blood to the brain and also burns fat through propelling metabolic rate. So try some tea, definitely one of the right foods before taking an exam.
Some Lasallians have their self-made daily dose of caffeine. Take the case of Sophie (II, AB-ISJ), she studies along with a cup of royal milk tea and egg pudding while Chesca (III, BS-MKT) prefers to eat Mcdonald’s fries to motivate herself in studying. Another rare self-made ritual is Kyna’s (III, BS-MKT) case which is a combination of Red Bull energy drink, gum and great music of her choice.
Disciplined Approach
As students, the main task is to do good in our academics but university life is mixed with exposure to frivolous endeavors. Fortunately, there are some who rise above the challenge of tempting distractions such as Vladimir (II, AE-FIN) “Do whatever needs to be done. Reserve all forms of entertainment until everything’s over.” While for Gino (IV, MR-MEM) “After every quiz, I make a reviewer. Consider it a ‘zip-file’ of the subject containing the coverage of the quiz. When finals come, I just whip out my reviewers [and] topics not covered by the quizzes.” For them, ample preparation and good study habits along with healthy self-restraint get the job done.
Having a disciplined approach means staying sharp and alert until the exams are over. It has been written that to achieve optimum performance, one should sustain a well-balanced study routine such as preparing reviewers or having your creatively-made flashcards. Moreover, one should always check his or her other daily requirements like food or other forms of nourishment, money, rest etc. to have a sense of time management and not to be hooked up with too much studying.
Interesting Deviations
Among the wide array of insights and advice fellow schoolmates provided in preparation for the finals, food is the popular choice. However, others may find solace in some more peculiar pre-final routines. Alex (IV, AB-PHL) states “I prepare for my finals by engaging in philosophical inquiries about the beauty and wonderment contained in my bedroom ceiling.” It seems philosophizing about the most trivial matters serves as his way of meditation and helps clear his mind for the test finals. A research conducted by the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California found that mind-wandering, or the tendency to let the mind drift to menial thoughts correlates to decreased performance concerning intelligence and the capacity to use the working memory.
Risk-taking behaviour is common among teenagers and for Mico (III, BS-MKT) he simply trusts and puts great confidence on his ability to recall his lessons “I don’t study anymore because I find finals as an ultimate test of what you have learned throughout the term and what has retained with you will keep you alive!” but perhaps pushing one’s luck and relying on it too much may prove to garner adverse effects.
While others may be frantic to absorb and review all their lessons, Jose (III, BS-MKT) would rather indulge himself in less serious activities, “Before finals week I usually party or go out with friends as much as I could.” But according to collegebingedrinking.net a research was done among college students who engaged in drinking before their examinations. Results have shown that while test scores were not significantly affected by consuming alcohol, the group which did drink however, displayed an increased mood disturbance compared to the group which had a gotten a placebo. Maybe it is not so wise to play with fire especially in areas where grades are concerned.
Your call
There are many different rituals and routines students adhere to in order to overcome the immense stress finals week is famous for. From consuming that favorite comfort food, downing cups of coffee throughout the day or taking sips of tea, and even engaging in deep conversations with oneself, all these are basic supplementary activities in order to prep oneself up and boost confidence.
The outcome of finals itself speaks volumes in behalf of one’s habits and character, and whether or not certain pre-final rituals produce desirable results in a student’s test performance.
Nevertheless, it can always be the end justifies the means as said by Machiavelli. What you have done does not matter as long as you get a good result at the end of the day.
