I don’t know if I can look. It’s going to be like the stampede scene in “The Lion King” and I can’t watch Mufasa die. I just can’t. I’m talking, of course, about the mad rush to Mugar that is about to take place. After classes get out on Monday it’ll be like a dam breaking, students shoving each other out of the way to get to their preferred study spot first, the weaker links being trampled by the herd. And that’s just something I don’t want to see.
We’ve all heard the expression “Early bird gets the worm.” But who wants to eat a worm? That’s seriously disgusting. Honestly, if you’re eating worms, you’ve got bigger problems than studying for your Econ final. How about “Good things come to those who wait”? Now, I’m not saying wait until the last second to study (unless, of course, sleep and general mental health are low on your list of priorities. If that’s the case, then by all means go for it. I’ll leave a light on for you.) No, I’m talking about taking a break. In fact, I’m talking about taking a lot of breaks.
Number one: study for 30 minutes at a time. And briefly clicking over to Facebook doesn’t count as time studying. You only looked at it for two minutes, you say? Then you can add another two minutes on to your timer. No, don’t be upset! I wasn’t yelling at you. I’m just trying to help you.
Now, I know many of you will be living off coffee, whether it be Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, iced or piping hot. Just remember that coffee can act as a laxative. You have been warned. But if you need coffee to do yo’ thang, then go for it. One thing I don’t recommend is caffeine pills. They can end up making you more anxious about finals, and can also give you the shakes. No point answering the written portion of the exam if you can’t hold the pen.
I know this is going to sound ridiculous to some of you, or perhaps most of you, but I wouldn’t recommend holing yourself up in the library, study lounge, cardboard box you started to live in when you decided you were going to fail college, etc. The air starts to stagnate and all of a sudden you realize you’ve been reading the same sentence about the evolution of pigeons for the past hour. So go outside! Take a walk, ride your bike, trip someone on the street who’s carrying a lot of bags and then laugh as they flail wildly about. OK, don’t do that. That’s mean. But do something entertaining.
One more thing: remember there is only so much you can do. Once you sit down and that exam is in front of you, you can’t go back. It’s just you, that exam, and the lingering effects of your caffeine overdose. So good luck, take a deep breath, and be brave.
Liz Boccolini is a freshman in the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at lizboc@bu.edu.
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