Final exams don’t really matter in the grand scheme of life.
Reread that last sentence. Mull it over. Let it sink in. You’re probably shaking your head.
No, this isn’t a joke. I’m serious. Putting finals in their place is the only way to keep your cool during this stressful time. Keeping all of your papers, tests and presentations in perspective is crucial to being happy and staying sane. You can eat your vegetables and jog every once and a while, but if you don’t have mental well-being, you aren’t very healthy after all. Finals are already traumatic enough. Lau becomes a pressure cooker of frantic students; don’t even get me started on the anxiety-ridden searches for an open cubicle. Why add to the stress?
This semester, I’m giving finals something my mom affectionately calls the “one-year test.” Whenever something bothered me growing up, she would ask, “Will this matter to you in a year?” I found, as I grew older, that it is quite a powerful question.
Yes, our overall performance at Georgetown will matter in a year. Getting a B-plus instead of an A-minus, however, will not. Take my word for it: It really won’t matter. I’m a hard worker, and I am by no means advocating slacking off. I understand as well as the rest of us that our academic careers now affect internship opportunities, graduate school selection and our long-term goals. That being said, please just do your best and be happy with that. Knowing my fellow students, your best is probably really great. We should study hard for finals but not place our self worth on a letter grade. We need to stop getting so worked up and hung up on minute details and instead turn our focus towards the grander scheme.
Back to the original question: “Will this matter to you in a year?” My mom’s favorite piece of advice used to make me roll my eyes. I cringed whenever she proposed the idea. Why? Because she was always right. If I defiantly retorted, “Yes, it will!” she would say, “What about in five?” I never had much to say after that.
I can’t say I follow all of her advice now, but I’m trying to adopt this outlook, and I think you should too. Out of maturity or out of the desperation brought about by college exams, her advice is more important to me now than it ever was. Putting things in perspective is an important life skill. Asking myself this question got me through college rejections, a bad breakup and countless other bumps along the way. It’s comforting to know that in a year, or at least five, you won’t still be bothered, worried or stressed about whatever you are now.
What will matter in a year from now is how you live your life and the habits you develop as a result. How much have you learned about prioritizing tasks, staying organized and keeping your commitments? Having values and skills like these will matter the most in the long run. Knowing how to take time for yourself, realizing the importance of sleep and being kind to others even when you’re frazzled – these matter, too. It’s healthy to remember that one so-so grade isn’t going to kill you and is definitely not a reflection of you as a person. It’s healthy to know that a research paper isn’t worth a nervous breakdown. Perhaps we should all take my mother’s advice: It’s healthy to give finals the one-year test.
Kylie Mohr is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. This is the final appearance of HEALTHY HOYA this semester.
