To All Students

            I'm pretty sure most students are under the nervous stressed out pandemic of finals that are occurring or for those of you who have finished finals...this still applies to you. From my own personal experiences finals is crunch time. Since most of your points for the semester will come from this one test or paper that will be handed in, grades are effected drastically. Why would teachers place so much influence on to one test? Is it there to truly test you in the real world applications of what you have learned in class?

            From my own personal experience, finals are a crazy and sometimes a living hell. Although mostly that is due to lack of effort during the semester. I have entered a final with an A in a class. Being overly confident that this final would be a breeze then all of a sudden BOOM! It was tough as hell and I was freaking out. My palms and armpits were getting sweaty because I was not sure of what to do. My final grade did not come out to be what I had expected. Especially after aiming for such a high grade during the semester. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. However this past summer, while here taking organic chemistry the complete opposite occurred. I was not doing to good in the class even when I put some effort into it. After calculating my grade, I realized I it was terrible probably around a low 60%. During that time I had to study, I busted my ass trying to learn what I can in preparation for the final. As I was taking the final, it dawned on me that all this studying actually pays off. I knew all the answers to the exam and felt confident when handing it in. Final grades came out and I passed the class. In astonishment from thinking I would fail I had come out on top!

            While studying in the library recently, I had taken a break and decided to walk around and see what other students were doing. I noticed that it was around even when comparing whether people would be studying or procrastinating. This was somewhat of a shock to me. I had assumed students would be studying crazily but instead had been disappointed when seeing them on youtube or facebook. Hopefully students will be able to come to a realization that studying and making constant effort in a class is key to getting good...wait scratch that...studying and constant effort is a essential to earning excellent grades. That is my two cents on finals. Good luck to those that are still studying (me included).