No, silly readers, I would never smear this sweet, sweet blog with foul language. That’s why I’ll just spell it out for you:
F-I-N-A-L-S! :-o! (haha…emoticonz…)
Actually, that’s an exaggeration. Yours truly is a closet-lover of reading period and finals week. I like having big chunks of time to devote to one or two things. Streamlined, you know? Tufts students have pretty busy schedules during the year, and I’m no exception. So these couple weeks are pretty much the only time I know when all we’re focusing on is a few papers or finals (no homework, meetings, etc). Call me crazy. Or comforting. Or Pam, you know, whatever.
That being said, the stress can get to you. But, have no fear – there are a million and one study breaks / de-stressors out there just waiting to be used n’ abused.
So I Actually Didn’t Fall Asleep During Guided Meditation
Our last TU3 (Tufts University Unitarian Universalists = T U Cubed) meeting of the year was full of cookies, holiday tradition stories, and meditation. Our weekly meetings are Tuesday nights and last about an hour. I was that token freshman who signs up for every other club at the Club/Orgs Fair, but TU3 is one of the few meetings that I consistently attend. It’s a good de-stressor every week (though especially the one before finals). I was raised UU, so the spiritual parts bring me right back to Sundays at home. Taking some time once a week to reflect and think about the bigger picture is a nice break. And when you’re thinking about the world and your place in it, it’s really hard to get caught up in stupid stuff or way more invested than you need to be in that problem set. You can getchur spiritual fix through a lot of avenues here. The Chaplaincy provides a ton of resources, and the student groups cover all your bases to provide a community and space – ranging from Catholic Mass in Goddard Chapel to Sufi Dhikr in the Interfaith Center. In my UU meeting this past week, we did a guided meditation to relax and spend ten minutes doing some focused breathing. Refreshing, not to mention the comfort of cookies.
There are countless other de-stress options this time of year, too.
I’m currently molding play-doh that I got from the Campus Center Study Break cart. Also included: jewelry kits, highlighters, post-it note pads, and keep-ya-goin’ candy. And my joints are feeling particularly nice after going to the free massages (keyword being free) in Jackson Gym. My friend Emily was one of those talented masseuses, offering her services as practice for a class on Massage Therapy. Also of note was the Pancake Breakfast (starting at 9 PM…I know, that’s PM as in NIGHTTIME as in College = no parents = pancakes at night = IT’S CRAAAZYYY HEREEE!). And what’s sweeter than maple syrup? Professors making the modes for maple syrup (i.e pancakes). And, again – free! I heard the Women’s Center study break – a different Disney movie and snacks every night! – is awesome, too.
This girl’s gotta write some papers, so I’m off. I’ll tell ya how my finals go.
(And, for the record, despite freezing temperatures the quad reception was FANTASTIC)
