Honors freshman recalls first encounter with finals week

Every college student dreads the thought of exam week. Whether it's a biology exam or the final 10 page paper of the semester, it takes a lot out of a student.

For most of us, the stress of finals comes, at a minimum, the week before. This is when the all-nighters, eating whenever possible and major cram sessions at the library begin.

For me, the stress began two weeks before actual finals week. In that week alone, I had a lot of stuff to worry about — psychology, math, a three-part Spanish exam, not to mention a final paper due at the end of that week.

The Spanish exam was awful. Learning a foreign language is hard enough, but having to be tested on it three separate times is torture.

In the first semester of taking the language, I had to be able to speak, listen, understand, read and write fluently in Spanish. This included three tenses, eight chapters of vocabulary and a five minute speech. I had to review over 300 flash cards for these exams alone.

Following the first part of my Spanish exam, I had my final in psychology. This covered the largest chapters within the book, mental disorders and treatments. I had to cram in a wide variety of different disorders and the treatments to each disorder.

Both my psych exam and the first two parts of my Spanish exam were back to back to back in the week prior to finals. When finals week hit, I was already exhausted, but I still had two exams and an eight page paper due.

When Tuesday rolled around I had my math final. My weekend basically consisted of studying for the exam and attempting to complete a seemingly endless study guide for it. Without any time to breathe, I had to take on the last section of my never ending Spanish exam right after.

When all my written exams were over, I still had to tackle my eight page paper over "Dante's Inferno" and "Don Juan in Hell." Fun, right? I think not. That final paper of the semester took the last bit of energy I had right out of me, leaving me exhausted and completely ready for Christmas break.

So, when people ask me how my finals week went, all I can do is stare at them and say, "How do you think?"

The truth is, finals can be different for everyone. But for me, experiencing finals week for the first time was one stressful hell that I am not looking forward to dealing with again.

— Brittany Brest is a freshman majoring in psychology.