Why the last month of final year will be the most difficult month of your life to date
Being a final year student just got a lot harder. May means exam season, coursework deadline overload and so much more.. you’re so close to finishing, yet so bloody far!
So semester two is almost over (aghhhh!). You might be excited to finally not have to study, or might be dreading what the real adult world will look like. Either way, you still have lectures to go to, coursework deadlines to meet and exams to write. If those aren't enough reasons for you to hate the next month already, here are some more.
You're stuck inside revising when the weather outside is summery and the best it has been since winter
There's a heatwave outside and you can't enjoy it. You're stuck in the SJ or Harold Cohen revising, finishing your dissertation or coursework. The only form of vitamin D you’ll be getting in the foreseeable future is that from Sunny D. The constant Instagram or snapchat updates your whole family seems to think you need aren't helping either!
People start questioning your future and it's stressing you out – you're still questioning your future
Whoever you speak to wants to know about your future plans; your inbox is full of emails form the Careers & Employability services offering you help with interview prep, what interview? What plans?! One step at a time people! Let me graduate first and then I’ll worry about becoming a real adult.
No social life: say bye bye to alcohol, Tinder dates or fun
No matter how in need you are of getting a break from revising, you just can't bear the thought of sacrificing a whole night for a risky Tinder date. Especially since you're not 100% certain you're going to get anything out of it. Let's be honest, risking it being tragic isn't worth wasting a night when you have three essays in… in three days.
The feeling of guilt is eating away at you
Feeling guilty about taking any time off at all from revising is a thing. The closer it gets to your exam, the guiltier you're feeling about taking an hour away from revision to cook and eat. If you end up bumping into a course mate in the library and end up chatting to them for half an hour, you feel guilty.
Money- what money?
You are broke. More broke than you were after a seven-day bender in Freshers', more broke than after a wild night out with you paying for rounds of drinks, more broke than you were a few days before the last instalment of the student loan dropped. You've pretty much spent your money on coffee, meal deals and Red Bull, i.e. the essentials for long revision sessions.
Making plans to celebrate finishing is more difficult than ever
And even celebrating your freedom is causing you major stress! Amidst revising, you're expected to organise a celebratory night out with all your beloved mates who happen to finish two days after you. Yes, your exam timetables have screwed you over and you all finish at different times. You have no one to celebrate with, and even if you did find someone, your friends would be annoyed that you were celebrating without them. Guess a bit of solo drinking in the comforts of your own home it's going to have to be then.
Breakdowns
And if the above don't make May sound like the hardest month of your life yet, thinking about everything (exams, coursework, post-uni life, work etc.) is making you very fragile and on the verge of a breakdown… even after you've just had a breakdown. Emotional rollercoaster? Yeah, I reckon this is how pregnant women feel.
So even though we're about to encounter on the scariest and longest rollercoaster ride of all time, it will all be worth it (just keep telling yourself that). Just a few more tough weeks and you will be uni free!