survive and relax

Well, i thought my break would be filled with blogs. I guess I thought wrong! I have been really enjoying these past two weeks of relaxing. It has been nice to spend time with Chris (he took two weeks off), catch up with family (we had four christmas' this year, it was a marathon!), and catch up with some friends.

I have mostly spent my time at the house hanging out and catching up with house things. Actually getting to cook has been nice (tortilla soup is cooking right now, yum!) and very fun.

As for finals, I think that they went well overall. I feel really good about two of them (torts and contracts), pretty good about one (property) and okay about the last (civil procedure). We don't find out our grades until the end of January, so now I am just trying to forget about them and relax until they come.

Surviving finals was one of the most mentally hard things I have ever done. As it came to the end of the two weeks I was exhausted and I felt like I couldn't possibly fit anything else into my brain. It is nice however, to have the first finals season over. Now I know what to expect, how to best prepare, and when to take breaks. Next semester will be a breeze . . . I wish :)

If you didn't know it, I am a person stuck on routine. I find a way that works for me, and I do it that way until it stops working. Pre-finals were no different. The biggest obstacle after you have studied is not to psych yourself out before the final. My goal is to go in with a clear head and to be nervous enough to not get cocky, but not so nervous that it messes with my head. I took some pictures so I could introduce you to my crazy pre-finals OCD self :)

First we start with a good breakfast and some vanilla black tea . . .

next comes one of the most important parts, the ipod. I have a pre-finals playlist filled with songs that make me happy, and songs that make me feel confident. I start it 40 minutes prior to the exam, crank it up, and don't talk/listen to anyone until the professor walks into the room to give instructions. This keeps me from getting stressed/nervous from the idol chatter before the exam, that is about the exam. It also clears my head and gets me ready to go

Finally comes the desk set-up, naked juice just in case I get hungry/thirsty, chap-stick, and four tic-tacs to keep me from biting my nails!

There you have, pre-finals procedure in a nut-shell. I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season!

-Laura