I'm back.  I feel like I went on a really long vacation, except I didn't go to Hawaii or Disney or Paris.  Worse than being stuck in the airport waiting for a series of delayed flights, my long vacation that kept me away from blogging and keeping you guys updated was a hibernation to my desk.  And let me let it be known that that desk was not much of a happy place.  Piles of practice exams, binders of notes, and textbooks galore!  The crazy thing about it all was that I was only studying for two finals!  Finally, I was really lucky to have only two exams this semester, but the "exam gods" would just not let me have it my way.  My only two exams were back-to-back and scheduled for the first two days of exam week.  Although I am excited and thorougly happy to be done with worrying about exams, I sure would have appreciated a break and some time to study.  The 3-4 days right after lecture classes were just way too stressul! 

(A side note to my Anatomy and Physiology classmates and any individuals who may get this:  Thank the Lord that my cortisol levels were pretty good.  I know that my adrenal cortex was putting in some major hours making sure I had those glucocorticoid levels maintained....oooohhh those stress hormones!)

But don't let me get y'all started and worked up about college finals.  Just like the end of the year assessments, Advance Placement, and IB exams that y'all may be taking in the next month and a half...the key to avoiding any and all stress that I obviously got myself into is really just getting organized.  Study early.  No pain, no gain, right?  You really have to have your game on if you want to do well, especially if you are taking classes like Organic Chemistry and Anatomy and Physiology, yikes!  (As y'all may recall from a previous entry, games aren't just played in the courts and the fields.  They're also played in the classrooms, and you always have to have your A-game on if you want to win!  Here's the link, to those who may want to brush up on that!)

I was also always told that you also never really have to study very hard to do great in classes.  You just have to study WELL.  What's the difference?  It's not necessarily going to be the time that you put in to studying, as much as it's the quality of the work you do in that time that you spend.  It's insane because you don't know just how much time you can actually spend doing something that  may seem like a great study technique but results won't show the same.  Find the thing that works for you, and find it quick!  Notecards?  Practice exams?  Re-writing notes?  Re-doing homework?  Whatever it is, find it!

It truly is the finale of finals for me, and I'm sure glad that this is the case.  It is perhaps the first and only finale I have ever truly looked forward to.  (I'm still bitter about "Friends" being over!!!)

Well, good luck on y'alls finals.  Rest assured, I'll be blogging more often again!

Catch y'all on the flipside, gamecocks!