FINALS: Get Ready for the Stress
June 9, 2015
The end of the school year is the most stressful time of the year. Seniors anticipating moving on to bigger, better things after being trapped in a building for four years, juniors cramming for SATS and exams, sophomores being sophomores, and freshmen looking forward to not being freshmen all crowd the building with their excitement and anticipation. Although reactions about the end of the year differ, to some extent, by grade level, students all have one thing in common that they agree brings serious stress: final exams.
Finals week is the most-demanding time for not only students but teachers as well. Some students feel motivated to work harder to adapt to the fast-moving pace. One of these students is Heldana Eskender, a freshman at Springbrook High School, who states that she works better under pressure and feels that the stressful environment of finals will help her better deal later on in life. “It’s hard, but life’s hard,” says Eskender. “How are you going to grow if you’re babied your whole life?”
For others, this time is very stressful and exhausting. Joann Hegbe, a freshman at Paint Branch High School, states that she feels that finals are intimidating and exasperating.
“Just when you think you’ve finished one, you have another one the next hour. And I can’t work to my fullest potential knowing that my class grade is on the line.”
— Joann Hegbe, 9th Grade
While these two young high-school students express varied responses to finals, older students like Meley Fekede, a sophomore at Paint Branch, tolerates exams but doesn’t love or hate them. “It’s whatever,” she says.
Rediet Yizengaw, a junior at Paint Branch, feels more pressure from her parents than the exams themselves. “I think my parents are more stressed out than I am,” she says.
Although getting rid of final exams altogether isn’t something most schools would consider, there are other ways of getting through the finals week. According to the University of Kentucky’s A Survival Guide to Finals Week, one of the most effective ways to cope with exams is to eliminate all distractions from your life, i.e., your phone, television and other distractions of that nature. The guide also says that students should get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, exercise, manage time well, and set realistic goals for themselves.
