I received a care package this week from my family back home. I suppose it’s the kind the school has been pushing on them, the ‘finals survival guide.’ It’s got your typical low-grade candy — the kind nobody eats during Halloween — and instant coffee packets. If they really wanted a useful combo, I suggest they dump the 10 different types of crackers and cookies and put in a week’s supply of 5-hour energy’s and Emergen-C packs. But hey, who wants sensible options as fuel for all nighters? Not I. (DISCLAIMER: Thank you mom and dad for your kindness. I appreciate it.)
Music is perhaps the best remedy — aside from sleep — for finals week. Classical music is said to raise your IQ, so I figure that’s a worthy choice to study to, especially if you feel as if it would take a miracle to help you feel capable and smart. But, when you need a song to take you far from the library, to a land of forgotten dreams, I suggest some kind of blues or R&B. They know our pain.
Finals often come close to getting the best of us, and in turn, bringing out the worst. My advice to you is to make that perfect playlist to get yourself through the studying. For runners, I’d equate it to the particular songs that force athletes to ignore cramps in their side and keep trudging on. I’m talking “Eye of the Tiger” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” Since when is it bad to pretend you’re enduring the worst? Granted, we are extremely lucky to be living in this free nation, and specifically, having the means to receive a college education. At the same time, however, challenges we face as participants in academia can drive us to insanity. After all, success in higher education is reserved for dedicated nerds.
There are particular songs I save for particular moments during finals week. There are some that are reserved for failure because, unfortunately, it is inevitable. You can’t abide by every hour-to-hour study schedule you made the night before on 10 hours of sleep, mind you. And this is where Chumbawamba comes in. We must remember to get up again, just like we must also remember that the catchiest and most marketable songs are usually the simplest ones. (SIDENOTE: Decide first if you have mind enough to battle lyrics that will undoubtedly remain stuck in your head for a solid 24 hours.)
If your stress level is exceeding what is “normal” and you are — hypothetically — ripping the posters off of your roommate’s bulletin board, in support of your own claims that Big Time Rush’s album photo is far too distracting, I recommend Enya. But be warned, you may fall asleep or change your intended major of biomedical engineering to interpretive dance. Her music is powerful.
I call my parents when it gets to be too much. But sometimes they don’t pick up, as if they have jobs of their own! I’m willing to settle for a substitute if the situation arises. Do I go to friends or teachers? God no. I turn to music like any other troubled teen. The particular song that comes to mind for me is Billy Joel’s “Vienna.”
It reminds me that whatever my version of “Vienna” might be, that theoretical nirvana exists beyond this stressful week. It is not to say I have reason to slack off, but as Billy Joel puts it, I deserve a moment to “take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while.”
So this finals week, I’m going to remember to “Slow down you crazy child,” because I’m just so darn ambitious for a juvenile.
I am no DJ, nor am I music savvy by any definition. I am, however, a fellow college student who could use an extra push this final week of the semester. Stop biting your nails and pulling out the hem on your jeans for just a moment and ask yourself this, if you’re so smart — which you are — tell me why are you still so afraid? I promise, Vienna waits for you… even if it isn’t that “A” on your final.
Haley Pearson is a freshman industrial design major and assistant opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
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