11 Things You Should Do Before Exams

McMaster is nearing the end of its 2016-2017 school year. Graduation is looming for many, exams are on the horizon and the excitement for summer has warmed up with the weather. While students are looking towards the post-exam season, we unfortunately, still have a month left of groaning about how final exams aren’t an accurate measure of our knowledge.

Here is a list of 11 things you can do to prepare emotionally and physically for your exams.

1. Self-care
   • Take time to do things that make your feel good. This could be as elaborate as planning a hike to Tiffany Falls, or as simple as taking a shower in the morning. Taking care of yourself should be your top priority.
2. Visit friends
   • Make time for your friends, even if it’s just for coffee or a board game night. It can help put exams out of your mind. This could be the last time you get to hang out with them before the end of the term.
3. One last 1280 night
   • If you were attached to 1280 in any way, it’s customary for you and your OG crew to throw it back to first year when you religiously attended the campus club. If you’re graduating, take the night to relish the old memories and watered down alcohol.
4. Clean your room
   • If you can muster up enough energy and time to get it done, cleaning your room can be a cathartic experience. Not only is swiffering oddly satisfying, but having a tidy space can contribute to good mental health.
5. Light Up the Night - April 6th
   • The MSU’s last hurrah for the year, and the night that your extra money (which you already paid to the MSU) gets spent on rides, food trucks and fireworks. The whole campus gets lit up and celebrates the end of another completed year.
6. Buy groceries
   • Stock up on some brain food to help you survive the late night study munchies. Having a full-ish cupboard can make any day brighter when you realize that you have a granola bar to grab while you’re quickly running out the door to catch your bus.
7. Hand in missing assignments
   • Time to make one last plea to your profs you’ve never met before. That participation mark isn’t going to participate itself, so, if you can, try to make it up. Handing in those missing assignments, even if you’re getting docked 40 per cent for lateness, can still make you feel like you have a chance to pass.
8. Apply for 2017/2018 MSU positions including here at the Sil!
   • The MSU is hiring for MANY different positions within the union. Apply now to secure a job for next year. https://www.msumcmaster.ca/jobs
9. Get away for a weekend
   • Whether it be a family member's house, or a tent in the woods, getting away for a weekend can help reset your troubled mind. If it’s with your family, you can milk those free, homemade meals and if you decide to make a solo trip, you can
10. Study
    • You should probably get started.
11. Cry

Featured Image c/o Jazmin Quaynor // StockSnap.io