Six days.
That short period of time is all that stands between us and the precious hiatus we call
winter break.
But in these six days, we also experience the terror that is finals week, and as students with suitcases and hundreds of pages of notes migrating to our temporary homes in Middleton Library, some of us have no idea how we will make it past these six grueling days.
To help guide you through this last week of examinations and projects, I have four useful suggestions for passing with flying colors, or at least surviving this week with no visible injuries.
 1. Study in a new environment 
Locked up for days with nothing but chemistry notes and an endless supply of Snickers bars and coffee, you could very well end up hating the area you have chosen as your academic prison for a long time to come.
So get out of your room or the normal Starbucks table you usually commandeer when studying and explore a new area of campus.
Business majors can go to the journalism building. English majors can write short stories and term papers in the Business Education Complex. There are no classes in session, so you can basically go anywhere.
2. Practice your patience
 We are all a little on edge during these last six days of stress, and it’s important not to take things personally.
People will yell if you laugh too hard at the BuzzFeed list you’re perusing during a procrastination break in the library, and while it may seem obnoxious to them, you probably deserved it.
Everyone will be getting a coffee boost at the same time, so the lines at Community Coffee and Starbucks will be long and never ending. Also take into account the workers are probably stressed college students, too.
Yes, as college students in the 21st century we think we are the centers of the universe, but keeping in mind that we’re all equally under pressure will at least keep us from getting angry when any of the aforementioned situations take place.
3. Drink responsibly
 If you’re writing a term paper, you can have a glass of wine. If you’re doing math, think twice.
College students spend their money on 5-hour energy drinks, coffee, Red Bull and other types of chemically altered drinks to keep them from passing out from exhaustion, yet they forget the ultimate source of life: Water.
Yeah, it’s nice to stay awake and keep working, but we are 75 percent water, not 75 percent cappuccino.
4. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s 2 a.m.
You’re in your room, covered in highlighter ink, when you freak out and decide there is nothing that can get you through this terrible period.
This impulse is going to happen often, and the key to getting through these peaks of overwhelming emotion is to keep in mind that it’s almost over.
You’ve spent 15 weeks going to class, somewhat paying attention to the material and familiarizing yourself with the subject, so even if you only went to syllabus day in the beginning of the semester, you can still make it through
testing day.
So get up, stretch, listen to an angry song and scream for a few minutes and then get back to work.
Hold on to the fact that you’re almost done.
In a few days you’ll be sitting in your house, drinking eggnog, and this terrible week will be a distant memory.
Hang in there people, it’s almost over.
 
Jose Bastidas is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Caracas, Venezuela. You can reach him on Twitter @jabastidas.