Freshman Files: Christmas Finals!

image credited to commons.wikimedia.org

Finals before winter break are known as the nightmare before Christmas to students at RCHS.

Ruthie B., Editor Emeritus

In middle school and elementary school, most classes have fun holiday parties with ugly sweaters, Christmas carols, and delicious food. But in high school, things change. In high school, we “celebrate” the holiday season with Finals.

Don’t Finals seem like so much fun? Haha! They aren’t. High schoolers dread the week before winter break because of three stressful days. I remember those good ol’ days when we only had to worry about i-Ready testing, which by the way is nothing compared to Finals.

Last year I saw Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram posts – all about how horrible Finals were. I thought people were just being overdramatic. But it turns out Finals are super stressful and are going to be just about as horrible as the memes say. My favorite post I’ve seen says, “How I describe Finals: The Nightmare Before Christmas!” Ha!

Although I haven’t exactly taken any Finals yet, I’m definitely not going as crazy as some other people. I’ve heard people walking around school going over notes out loud, people talking about staying up all night studying, and study circles sitting together at lunch all hunched over notebooks. Most students are totally stressing out instead of having a jolly holiday. I think for me, I’m a good in-between. I’m doing the work to make sure I pass my Finals, but I also walk around humming Christmas tunes and wearing my red and green mix-matched Converse.

The only positive things people associate with Finals are the minimum days and the long Winter Break ahead. I sure know I do. Finals mean the semester is ending and Winter Break is finally here. And in most of my classes, work is light because teachers know students are preparing for Finals. So light work and the prospect of a long break are the two things that are driving me towards finishing my Finals.

So while most kids are eating little gingerbread men and singing along to “Jingle Bells,” I’ll be studying, taking my Finals, and looking forward to Christmas. Hope you all have a merry Winter Break! Oh, and wish me luck!