How to take an L with dignity

As the semester draws to a close, many of us are scrambling to pick up the pieces of our lives that our classes shattered. We’re hoping for curves, doing all the extra credit assignments we can, staying up late studying, bullshitting our final papers, procrastinating, and of course, sacrificing deadlines just so we can give ourselves a few minutes to eat, sleep and shower. Throughout every semester, there are just some L’s we have to take. It’s a fact of life, and while no one’s ever proud of the L’s they take (you’re definitely not paying thousands of dollars to go to college and fail), you know that you can breathe a little better, though at a cost. After suffering through what was my most hectic and heavy semester ever, here are some tips on how to take them like a pro.

Think about your assignments strategically

You’re sitting in front of your laptop, panicking because you have three big assignments that are due the same day, same time on Sakai. You definitely spent the last week doing just about everything EXCEPT these three assignments, and now it’s the day before the due date and you’re freaking out. Maybe you should have invested in a planner. Or maybe you did invest in one but sometimes things just don’t go as planned. Here are some questions to ask yourself: Which assignment is more important? Which one has a larger impact on your final grade? Can any of them be submitted late? Those will weed out which assignments you should prioritize.

Don’t talk about it

Sure, tweet about how you just took an L on an essay or how you spent the night finishing that essay instead of doing the readings for another class. Mention it to a friend, even. But as soon as you walk into that classroom, lecture hall, lab, etc., act normal. Act like you did do the readings, act like you actually did finish (or even start) your paper. No whining. No talking about how stressed you are. Your professor can probably see right through you, and on the inside, you may be dying of shame, but what matters is that you don’t look like a degenerate to your peers.

Look the part

So you were up all night agonizing over that one assignment while ignoring the others, and the next thing you know you’re sitting in one of the classes for one of the assignments that you failed to do. Not looking like a dunce also includes looking well-rested, even though you’re actually running on caffeine and 2 hours of sleep (or less, or none at all, I don’t judge).

An actual photo of me in the middle of pulling an all-nighter

The secret to looking like you got a solid amount of sleep, regardless of gender, is concealer. Seriously. If you want to walk into class the next morning looking like you’ve consistently handed in assignments on time without any problems with time management, smack on some undereye concealer on your dark circles and highlight your nose, chin, and forehead, brush your hair, and voila. You now look like you might actually pass your classes this semester.

Before: designer eye bags. After: looking refreshed.

Think about how you can do better

So you took an L this semester. Or many. Maybe you failed a class, or got a lower grade than what you wanted. Maybe your professor doesn’t do curves. But it’s not the end of the world. Whether it’s your first semester or your last, looking at where you went wrong is a great way to be better when the next opportunity comes around. For me, I need to get better at time management and self-motivation. Take the time to know yourself and your habits so that maybe next semester you can get your life together and function again.