The alarm clock of finals is ringing, shattering the delicate dreams of summer break and bearing news that the end of the semester is here.
The easiest decision is to roll over and hit the snooze button on life, pull the comfort of apathy over our heads and drift off to a world where our final exams are used as kindling for a summer campfire on the beach.
There is temptation to stay in bed, forget about them and instead relax in doomed hopes that summer will miraculously come before our next exam. Or, we can kick off the covers and place both feet on the floor, and take life one step at a time during this crucial season — which unfortunately comes around every year.
Sure, it sucks to have cold reality hit you after throwing off the blankets, but we have come to realize that getting up and working hard in the tougher days of the semester is actually rewarding. Pushing through the pain offers an opportunity to breach the last frontier of finals with triumph.
Although the fight for summer’s relief isn’t usually won while in bed, watching a few episodes of Netflix between study sessions never hurt. The point is, life after this stressful season is just around the corner.
And remember, whatever happens, you’re still here. You’re still breathing. Seasons of finals come and go, but, at the end of it all it’s nice to be alive.
So take a moment to enjoy The Cougar’s guide to surviving this year’s hardest moments. Whether you’re looking for a late-night bite or a quiet place to trudge through biology notes, it’s all laid out for you within these pages.
-Karis Johnson and Trey Strange, Finals edition editors