As finals week slowly creeps up on students at Fossil Ridge High School, the amount of stress and panic within the student body will increase immensely as students frantically prepare for their tests. Let’s face the facts: finals are very stressful for most students and even some teachers! Students will be looking for any form of stress relief they can find to get away from the burdens ahead.
Stress is very prevalent throughout the school year for students at FRHS, but finals only add extra stress due as finals play a huge role in grades at the end of the semester. Melissa Vasa, a counselor at FRHS, agreed and admitted that she “sees students with increased levels of anxiety and stress during finals week every year.” There is no doubt that stress is a problem for almost all students. Being able to simultaneously de-stress while preparing for finals is difficult, but not impossible.
Diligence can be a good thing to have during finals week since it can allow a student to study efficiently and get important work done, possibly taking some stress off of their shoulders. With hard work comes higher rewards and studying hard can give students an advantage when finals come around. “Having a good work ethic can potentially relieve some stress, but not all” says Kyle Senior, a Junior at Fossil Ridge. Senior considers himself an average student at Fossil Ridge: he has a medium load of Advanced Placement classes that require a lot of dedication to be fully successful in, and has a final for each of his 7 classes. Studying without distractions is also key.
Verbally releasing some of the things that are stressing you out by talking to someone can also definitely help a student focus more on the task at hand, as well as get rid of some stress caused by the burden of finals. Venting to a close friend or family member could “give more focus to someone preparing for finals” Senior said. Contrarily, Senior admits, venting could potentially cause a student to “focus more on what they are stressed out about by hearing about their own problems.”
Students can also physically release stress by playing a sport, doing any physical activity, or even something as small as cleaning up the house. Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. Even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects. Senior feels that “it can help clear your head and help you feel better in general.” Exercise loosens muscles in the body, resulting in a more relaxed mood and emotional state which can potentially strengthen your mind and assure you that you are ready to take finals.
