How I learned not to dread finals
Final exam time in college always felt like a season of its own. I have to admit: I embraced it. Stress, tears, and lack of sleep were just part of the college experience. Or so I thought.
During my sophomore year, I was down to my last assignment. I had a day and a half to finish a lengthy essay. I went to the library early and spent the day writing before returning to my dorm for a dinner break. The deadline was looming, and the paper was not flowing as easily as I had hoped. But I had a sense of how to finish it. Then things quickly fell apart. Literally.
When I picked up my laptop to return to the library, the battery fell out. Today, that might not sound like a big deal: Everything is saved to the cloud, right? But this was during the dark ages … in other words, the land before Google Drive. Even worse, the laptop I was using was borrowed from the college library; unsaved work would be deleted if the device was restarted. Saving your work was a ridiculous process of finding a USB drive buried at the bottom of your backpack, or sending yourself constant emails with updated drafts. In what can only be attributed to finals delusion, I hadn’t done either in quite some time. I lost it all. A tidal wave of panic washed over me. In the same moment, though, I felt something impelling me to pause and pray.
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