While I'm definitely not looking forward to the tests and projects that next week will bring, there are a few reasons why I look forward to finals week each year. Though many of my friends resent that I have more papers than hard-core exams and more projects than cramming, I am still going to take this opportunity to put into writing the parts of finals week that can be just a little bit enjoyable (even if you do have have plenty of tests to study for).
1) No classes. Finals week allows you to focus only on those two-hour blocks of time during which you concentrate on one subject alone. There are no projects or homework, no lectures and no running from classroom to classroom. Time expands (and shortens during those hours of last-minute cramming) and allows you to catch up on all of the work that inevitably kept getting pushed back throughout the semester.
2) Comfy clothes. It is perfectly acceptable (and expectable!) to ignore appearances during finals week. You see many pairs of sweatpants, messy hair, slipper-like shoes and studious eyewear. Finals week allows for the relaxed attitude toward appearances I wish for all year round.
3) Snacking/eating. Finals week days are structured around finals and eating. Schedules revolve around test times and meal times - no interruptions for meetings or interviews and no responsibilities except striving for passing grades and staying sustained through busy nights.
4) Coffee. Coffee addictions (such as my own) are not judged or suspect during finals week. It seems that everyone is running on caffeine and LaFortune (and now Au Bon Pain) snacks. Which brings me to point number 5...
5) Flex Points. Flex Points expire at the end of the semester, and what better time is there to use those extra points than during finals week? I can stop being stingy at Starbucks and the Huddle and stock up on coffee mugs and Ben and Jerry's until my heart's content. (Or at least until my Flex Point balance runs low.)
6) Movies. Finals week allows for some (perhaps limited) time to watch movies. And with the 25 Days of Christmas (and especially with the Countdown to the 25 of Days of Christmas) on ABC Family, we need that extra time finals week allows for movie watching. If nothing else, Christmas movies certainly make after-finals packing more enjoyable.
7) Christmas. Finals week means Christmas is just around the corner. It's a countdown to Christmas break and all of the good that comes with the Christmas season. And this Christmas season, finals week means one other thing: the countdown to when Notre Dame will take home a national championship title. Go Irish!
