The wind through the trees resembles too closely the sighs of the student body as finals week readies its claws to pounce next week. The streets might as well have dust devils blowing through them like wild west towns at high noon. Students can be seen stumbling home from their 24-hour cram sessions as the sun rises, the hope in their eyes now replaced with sleep and tears. Hope is not lost, though, if you find the right study spot. Libraries, coffee shops and studying from home are on the chopping block.

Libraries are the traditional option for students in their time of need. Filled with other students staring at their monitors in dismay, the sense of hopeless camaraderie helps soften the blow. Often it is assumed that the scholarly atmosphere will help you focus by osmosis, when in actuality the library helps students feel better about browsing Facebook while pretending to look over their lecture slides in silence.

If the urge to procrastinate is beat off by the fear of an “F” hanging over your head, the library is a great quiet place that often has very agreeable hours to finals week, some staying open extended hours especially for finals. Also free food and other stress relievers can save your cram session from becoming a trip to the insane asylum.

Coffee shops are for those who have a realistic vision of how much silence a fragile finals week brain can handle. The smell of freshly ground coffee invigorates the few who have braved the trek early enough to score a spot. If cognitive thought can be achieved off the screeching of complex machinery churning out prissy coffee drinks and the sorority girls waiting at the counter for said drinks, there are plenty of other distractions to fall into. Baristas, male or female, often are a distracting factor to students.

Required to buy coffee in order to stay awake and stay in the shop as a patron, the “groove” of studying is interrupted every 10-20 minutes as bathroom breaks become essential to not wetting your pants. Being a public place with a mix of real people and zombie-eske students, the zombies must make some kind of effort to look presentable to the public, whereas the other undead at the libraries don’t mind what the others choose to wear. An excellent place to do some light studying with friends to keep your sanity, coffee shops are a great place to at least halfway try and study on your breaks.

Studying at home, much like unicorns and gnomes, only exists in fairytales for most students. While the appeal of studying in nothing but skivvies is a siren song to the student population, this often creates unforeseen distractions. Food being so close at hand, the internet and things in your room compete for your attention and time. Roommates who have just finished their finals sit in their own filth, enticing you to join them “just for one episode.”

Five hours later with your deadline approaching and only five episodes of Gilmore Girls to show for it, you trudge back to your dimly lit cave of a room to salvage what you can of study time. Only the strongest can resist the allures of the home to crank out a successful and no hassle finals week study session.

Regardless of the choice of study spot or method of consuming information that has been neglecting for 15 weeks, the important thing is that it works. As the collective attitude of the student body goes from “done with this semester” to “oh shit,” students can feel comfortable knowing they don’t struggle alone. Much like the seasons, finals week will be back and will suck just as much if not more than you remember next semester. Happy studying.

 Elias Radtke  ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in chemical engineering.