10 Ways to Do Finals Week (with pizzazz, y'all)

1. Stock up on that pre-made shiz: been itching to try Trader Joe's cool pre-made, frozen goods because their advertising makes everything sound so delectable (I know?! Right?!) Buy all the palak paneer your heart desires! Who wants to cook during this week?

2. Maybe use self control (that darned app. It's a script, so really, there's no way around it. Not that I tried. Or laughed in triumph maniacally when I realized that I hadn't blocked other fun websites like buzzfeed or something. What now, Self Control, what now?!) or somehow get off your social network-time consuming websites. Seriously, I realized this year that if you're busy 'til 6 pm, you can still have a super productive day, because 3 hours worth of *actual* studying is better than the day's worth of intermittent, distracted studying. Now I know why the students who have jobs can stay on top of work, because they're forced to! But anyway, as we know blah blah facebook and the like just suck up all the time. However, self control might not be foolproof because like me you may be driven to go on websites that you don't use that often...for example, I found myself on sparklife, tumblr, and naturally author's blogs (since I know that author's blogs are really quite time consuming websites for most of the population).
Or, well, don't use self control, I kind of used it as an experiment and have never had YouTube taken away from me for so long (sad but okay). Just self control yourself (Lawl. Sorry to be cheeZee)

3. Does listening to music while working really help you? Does it? - Am saying this because it doesn't help me absorb anything, but maybe that's because I'm reading massive amounts of chapters about microbes, and let me tell you that Sam Tsui's cover of Heart Attack might be slightly more interesting than the microbes. But just a little bit more interesting. Did you know that endotoxins are basically like horcruxes? Not only in that they're just ~pure evil~, but in that only a few things can kill them (formaldehyde, iodine). Now you know.

4. Don't spend too much time alone or you will become weird and crazed- Maybe spend the morning to around 4 pm doing work. Then eat with someone, or eat while doing a relaxing activity. Or go out and fill up your water bottle and stop by a friend's room. I'm just saying this because I actually turn crazy and weird holed up in my room alone. On my breaks I send the weirdest snap chats and start emailing people a lot to make up for lost social contact. Also I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's. There. It's out in the open, I've said it. (I took a nap afterward because there was too much glucose buzzing in my veins, I felt drugged). Don't eat a pint of ben and jerry's as your only food source during the day. Even if your thoughts are something like "Need water...but water all the way downstairs...ice cream...kind of liquid-y?" or "Need pot to make spaghetti...no friends/neighbors here...will eat ice cream for sustenance until pot is obtained"

5. If you're reading science chapters, you should totally make up stories or relate them to life. This works for me. Excerpts from my notes: "Before master follicle took over, he killed all other follicles to use as energy. (Nazi Follicle.) During his reign in history called the “Follicular Phase of Nazi Folliculi”, he led for a peaceful while before the Luteal Dynasty overtook him. This era was marked by a time of much induced progesterone on the endometrial lining. (Also called Proliferative Phase)" If you're writing papers, I'm slightly jealous of you and wish you and Pandora/Youtube the happiest of times.

6. Look fabulous whenever possible! "If your clothes are fabulous, you, too, will feel fabulous" - I'm sure, like, Tyra or Kate Moss or someone must've said this

7. For a break: learned this little tip in acting class: put on 20 minutes of classical music, and lie on the floor. (Or the bed I guess). "Listen to your body, take note and observe your reactions, changes, to the music throughout the 20 minutes." It's a great segue-way into a nap and totally relaxes you.  !!!

8. Get a neutrogena scrub so you can feel fine and dandy if your face feels like death and you need to feel fresh again!

9. See the light of day: Ok- nobody wants to do this- but a run will help you feel better. Or exercise. Or dance wildly around the room. Whatever works!

10. Get enough sleeeeeep and study effectively! Gooood luck!

PS Tip #11: Don't let evil lab TAs get to you. No matter how much they may laugh at your sad petri plate. Just content yourself with the knowledge that they are evil and you are being victimized and that the good always prevail, and plus you just can't make a snide remark to them because they are grading you. However you may possibly be able to get a snide remark in there at some point after your grades are finalized, though you should not plan on this/look forward to it even if they deserve it from their cruel condescension all semester.
Tip#12: Thus far my signs in the fridge saying, "Don't take this food, because I will find you. It's finals week and you are cruel and heartless to steal food. Also I may or may not have put ground laxatives in these so good luck with that, you villainous food stealer. If you take the food karmic retribution will follow so beware" have been successful. Just to update you about the stolen cheese situation.

PPS Dammit. It's the end of the year and only NOW I've figured out what I should routinely post in every blog: new trailers to watch! Trailers are the basis of my existence. If you want to see a few quality ones: 1- About Time with Domhall Gleeson & Rachel McAdams. Including time traveling, romance, and boys falling in love with Rachel McAdams and her adorable short hair, etc. Why this is worth viewing: The Vow's trailer was SUPERB but the movie was ...sub-par. About Time is by the "people who brought you Four Weddings and a Funeral and contains British people and that ever subtle British humor, so I'm really excited to see it.
2-The Butler: starring basically everyone ever, like SNAPE?! (Snape?! Snape. Snape? What is he doing here? On a southern plantation? Why? How?), Oprah, Forest Whitaker, Alex Pettyfer (again, what the hell, how is everyone in this movie without some form of combustion going on), Vanessa Redgrave (suitably as an old southern lady who sits on her porch rocker and gives life advice- now you see why my picture of the south is basically old ladies on their porches offering peach cobbler to anyone-), James Marsden, John Cusack, and like, a lot of people. It looks Oscar-worthy, and you heard it here first!
3- August: Osage County featuring a dysfunctional family who is brought together..somewhere in the south, again, judging by Meryl Streep's fabulous, FABULOUS southern accent. Julia Roberts, a spontaneously American- accented Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin and Hottie McHotterson Dermot Mulroney also star.
4- Baggage Claim: some annoying new Fox rom-com with Paula Patton from Jumping the Broom (I find her personally to be a little annoying). The only reason I'm putting it here is because it stars her going to track down all of her exes (because she works on airlines and obviously her exes are flying all the time? Which is how she's tracking them down? By going on the airplanes they go on? I'm not sure, really) and there's a really funny scene in the trailer. Also - a little reminscient of What's Your Number, anyone? (A terrible movie, though I still love Anna Faris and Chris Evans despite it all).

Whoa. that turned out longer than it was supposed to be, and contradicts my whole "focus on studies not wasting time," so maybe watch these..after finals? Amirah out!

We're almost there.

Hey, everyone!

Classes have officially ended for the semester and all that is left are finals. Yay! (Or not-so-yay considering finals are not too fun).

There is something really strangely wonderful and stressful about finals week. All the people who have been not going to class or not doing their assignments are now in a desperate frenzy to salvage their grades. Other people have been putting in the work all semester and are still in a desperate frenzy because let's face it, who isn't freaking out during finals week?  At the beginning of every semester, I tell myself to make an effort all semester so that I can learn the material over a longer period of time. This helps when studying for finals because you already know all of the stuff. You just have to review it and do practice problems (if it's something like a math or science class). Of course, we all have our lazy periods, but it's super important to make an effort. This way you won't be cursing yourself for spending countless hours on Facebook or Twitter or tumblr or Pinterest when you could have been reviewing your notes. But who's perfect? We're all guilty of being distracted.

So how do you fight distraction?

Look at the bigger picture. Why are you in school? You're there to learn and grow and be better. Those hours spent studying and writing papers are at times painful and difficult. But they will be worth it one day. Some people believe that there's no point in going to college. And maybe, for some people that's true. But for me, I know it's the right thing. Knowledge is power. (Corny as that sounds.) To be able to communicate your thoughts effectively is power. College can help you be better, but only if you let it.
So as you're struggling this week, remember why you're doing all of this. (And make a long list of fun things to do after finals are over).

In other news, the Seminar 4 conference at the Macaulay building happened last weekend. We all had to do our group presentations. It's always interesting to see the kinds of projects the Macaulay kids at other campuses do. It was my third presentation of the semester. I like presenting, but I always seem to speak too quickly because I get nervous and want to get all of my thoughts out before I forget them. haha. I've gotten a lot better at it over the past couple of years because I've learned to control my nerves a bit better and just slow down, but it's a struggle. I feel like the more often I give presentations, the more comfortable I get. Sometimes, you have to do things that make you uncomfortable, in order to eventually be good at them. What's weird is that I usually feel more comfortable if I can move around during the presentation. That seems to calm my nerves for some reason.

There are a few people that I went to middle school and high school with that are in Macaulay, but I don't get to see them because we go to different colleges. These Seminar events are good because you get to see people that you normally wouldn't see. Before my presentation, I got to see one of my old friends who I haven't seen since graduating high school two years ago. It was super nice seeing him and catching up on each other's lives. We bonded over our stressful pre-med existence. haha. Facebook is good for keeping in touch, but it's just not the same as seeing someone face to face. Also, once I finished my presentation, I sat back down to see the next presentation. Lo and behold one of the people in the next group was someone who I went to middle school with and hadn't seen in almost 6 years! I knew he was in Macaulay, but this my first time seeing him at any of the events. I sat through his group's presentation all the while wondering if he remembered me or if I should say something. His group finished presenting and sat right behind my group. He ended up tapping my shoulder and we had a super nice conversation. I love moments like that. It's so cool to see people after long periods of time because you notice how some things have changed and others have stayed the same.

Good luck to everyone studying for finals and/or writing final papers!

S.

Quote of the Week

“Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow.” 
― Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

P.S. The sounds I hear in the library during finals week: 

• the clickety-clack of someone furiously typing on their laptop
• the zipping and unzipping of bags
• heavy sighs
• the sounds of unwrapping sandwiches or opening food containers (because everyone stops caring that we aren't allowed to eat in the library)
• the brief whispered conversations of friends in silent study
• ...and other unidentified sounds.

Things I Probably Shouldn’t Do Weekend Before Finals

1. Go to a two-day music festival. 

2. Have tons of fun with my best friends. 

3. Stay out late every night. 

4. Not study all that much. 

But am I doing them? Yes.

Last night at CVS I saw people stocking up on energy drinks so they can stay up 24/2.5 this weekend to study, but I’m dealing with stress the best way I know how: by avoiding work completely. It is not a method I recommend if you want to successfully deal with stress.

I woke up this morning totally naturally at seven, probably since my body has gotten used to so little sleep, and I got a head start on studying for my math final. I’m not looking forward to Sunday since I’ll be locking myself in my room from dawn until way past dusk trying to get as much work and studying done as I can. And then I shall repeat that process all the way until Wednesday, of course leaving the study cave for when I actually have my finals. And maybe to use the bathroom. And also a possible three am Dunkin run when it gets really bad. 

But for now, I’m going to pick up my friends and grab some lunch. After that, we’ll most likely be dancing for eight hours straight. And then dance eight or so more hours on Saturday.

This will be not only the best, but also the worst weekend ever.