Finals...AGH!

It is already finals week for the spring semester! And you know what that means. Lots of coffee, late nights, no sleep, and last but definitely not least...STRESS.

AGH! I am stressed out man! 

I think the worst thing about finals is Dead Week. Those few days you have off class to study for the tests. Personally, I think it is awesome that we get those few extra days to study like crazy, but all that time also makes me psych myself out before the exams even start. And I find myself wide-eyed and scared that I am going to forget everything that I learned through the semester. Here are a couple things that I have helped me to reduce some of that stress, during study/finals time:

1. Good Music:

Some people like to have their study environments so, super-duper quiet to concentrate. But, I always feel distracted by every single little noise that happens when it gets too quiet. So, to help myself concentrate I like to listen to some really good, calming music. Sometimes I find it helpful to just listen to instrumental soundtracks, so that I do not concentrate on the lyrics instead of what I am studying. 

2.  Take Breaks: 

Do NOT just study, study, study. That can result in information overload, and a reboot may not always be possible. Plus I do not think you roommate or study buddies want to see you go crazy town. Being a professional procrastinator and purveyor of all things lazy, I always think it is a good idea to take a nice break once in awhile. In addition to gaining back all your sanity, it is also good to take breaks to let your brain take in all of the information you are looking over. Take a nap, watch a video, take a walk; just do something other than just staring at a computer screen or your textbook! 

3. Have some yummy snacks yo!:

I know this is surprising but, your body needs food! Do not starve yourself while studying. Your roommate does not need to come back from the library to find you on the floor from starvation. 

4. Do not forget to sleep: 

I know you want to stay up all night to try and take in all the information you think you will forget. But,  none of your studying will payoff if you do not get any sleep. Our bodies need REM sleep to help encode all of the things we learn our brain-boxes. And we get sleep it helps us remember those facts for the exams. Plus, sleep is awesome! 

5. Don't psych yourself out:

If you paid attention in class and read, you will do fine. Take a deep breath and remember that you are the bomb-diggity! If you have a positive attitude going into the exam and while you are studying, it will help out in the long run. Having a positive outlook will let you not psych yourself out, and do your best. 

Anyways, I hoped at least one of these helps yall' out when you are studying or taking exams. Good luck out there!! 

Until next time (: 

Christine 

What Just Happened...

Do you ever have those days where everything is just great? The sun is shining, it is positively beautiful outside, and you have not a care in the world, and nothing could change that. You trip, fall, and get knocked down, but you persevere and get right back up. For me today was one of those days. Until something extremely peculiar happened in one of my lecture classes. 

 Being in a good mood always makes me friendlier, and act more positively towards others. Usually I am the quietest person in the room and tend to keep to myself, but when I am feeling good, I like to meet new people and just have a good time. So, my friend and I started introducing ourselves to the people around us, and started to have casual conversations (about music, favorite shows, etc;). At this point we had been talking to this guy (who we will just call "C"), and brought up the subject of our favorite songs. At this point things started to get really weird. "C" told us his favorite song was "O. Lover", by Jason Mraz. When we told him that we had never heard the song before, he proceeded to sing it out loud...and started to dance. In my opinion, that is not something that one does if they are trying to have a casual conversation with people they have just met. It was quite frankly the strangest thing that has ever happened, until...

 Later in the class, we heard our names being whispered (quite loudly) from across the room. When we turned to find out where the whispers were coming from, and found "C". He was standing right behind our chairs, got really close, and asked in a really quite voice, "Would you like some lotion?". He then proceeded to pull out a bottle of lotion from his pocket. WHAT! WHO CARRIES AROUND A BOTTLE OF LOTION AND OFFERS IT TO PEOPLE THAT THEY JUST MET. If the singing and dancing wasn't bad enough, he had to add this incident to the list of strangest things that have happened to me. What are some peculiar things that have happened to you?