With great semesters, come great exam periods. When exam week starts rolling around, it feels like all we can think about are those slowly but surely approaching tests and deadlines. However, amidst the stress, it's important to find some humour in the chaos and give ourselves credit for making it through another wild exam period. From feeling optimistic at the start to navigating yourself through the pre-exam chaos, the exam week is a rollercoaster that every student knows all too well. But when we finally make it through to the other side, it's a great reminder of just how strong and persistent we can be!

Day 1:  Plenty of time and positive affirmations - nothing is lost (yet)

Planning and scheduling. Scheduling and planning. This is what day 1 of the exam week entails and you feel confident that all the work that needs to be done is perfectly organised to the minute. After all, there is no time to waste and even though booking a slot to study in the library seems impossible at first glance, there is hope. You got this!

Day 2: Full-On “Study Mode”

Everything is going according to plan - study times are planned, the Pomodoro technique is your best friend, and even the breaks are all happening during their designated slots. All this productivity makes you feel like you are on top of the world. The result of these efforts is also visible - your essays are getting written, articles are being read, pages are flying…but so is the time.

Day 3: Procrastination kicks in

The sun is rising and a whole new day of studying is ahead. However, something feels off. Just when you have everything under control, you find out that the latest season of your favourite show has been released! That’s definitely not the best timing but one episode won’t hurt. Fast forward five hours later - the season is binged. Okay, focus! You need to get back to work! But at the same time, this desk is such a mess, and your wardrobe can be a bit more organised, and the videos of sneezing kittens are just hilarious. Essentially, studying can also happen in the later hours as well. You did so much work yesterday, you are ahead of schedule… right?

Day 4: The study group fiasco

What is the best way to memorise study material - explain it to others! You join a study group session hoping for a productivity boost, but this quickly evolves into complete chaos. Everyone's talking over each other, and you realise this might have been a mistake. Facts are exchanged, theories are repeated, exam questions are revised but it is so loud and busy that you're not even sure if this is the same subject you're supposed to be studying.

Day 5: The big cram

What was once considered good planning and strategic studying is now all gone. Panic mode is activated. It’s the day before the exam, and you’re cramming as much information as possible. Desperation sets in as you realise just how much you still don’t know. Your heart races as you try to memorise key concepts and equations, hoping they will stick in your mind long enough for the exam. You're starting to wonder if you accidentally enrolled in the advanced quantum physics class instead of the one on academic writing.

Day 6: Exam hall panic

Tis the big day! It’s the final countdown before your exam, and you’re standing outside the exam hall. The atmosphere is thick with tension as students mill around, each lost in their own swirl of anxiety and last-minute studying. Some are flipping through notes, others are whispering key points to themselves, and a few are offering last-minute quizzing to each other. It's like a scene from a dramatic movie but with more nervous laughter and desperate attempts to remember that one theory everyone forgot to revise.

Day 7: Relieving the post-exam stress

At last, you've reached the finish line. Waking up the day after the exam is considered one of the best feelings known to man. The crippling anxiety from yesterday is now long gone and a sense of relaxation, relief and accomplishment are filling you up. You did it! You made it through! Now, off to a well-deserved holiday!

If anything, these past 7 days have taught you that the exam week is a whirlwind journey: from confident beginnings to the final moment of relief, filled with a mix of careful planning, procrastination, and frantic cramming. Each day presented you with new difficulties and tiny victories despite the ups and downs. That’s why, take pride in your determination and the hard work that got you here as you finally turn in your final exam. Reward yourself for your successes and take a moment to relax, knowing that you have made it through yet another challenging semester. Time to enjoy the summer vacation!