Dear Aunt Izzie,
The end of the semester is coming too quickly and I’m stressed out about my grades and all the work I have left to do. Any tips?
Sincerely,
Drowning in Work
Dear Drowning in Work,
Take a deep breath! The end of the semester is coming quickly but not too quickly for you to catch up. I know it’s hard to stay focused because the longest winter since the Ice Age has finally given way to sundress weather (hallelujah!) but you must stick it out. Keeping focused is going to be the most important thing. Without focus you will drown in work and sink to the bottom of the “Hi, I’m a night janitor” ocean.
Sometimes your schoolwork can get the best of you.
If you’re stressed out about your grades the first thing you can do is talk to your professors. Go to their office hours, see if they offer extra credit, get any help you can from them. You may feel like a suck up, but your GPA doesn’t judge.
Ask yourself if you are doing everything you can to excel. Are you doing all the readings? Are you talking to the PLAs? Have you been paying attention in class? If the answer to any of those questions is no, change your behavior. Start reading and talking and paying attention. A lot of assignments and exams can accumulate toward the end of the semester. Stay on top of them using a planner or reminders on your phone or a very length to-do list.
Finally, go to class. Go. Don’t sleep in, don’t skip to catch up on homework, and don’t justify not going because you’re hungover from springtime day drinking. Download a countdown app on your phone and count down to the last day of classes if you think that will help motivate you. Stamp “YOU CAN DO IT” on your forehead if that will help motivate you. Literally do anything you can to motivate yourself. The last day of finals is a month away! Godspeed.
Love,
Aunt Izzie
Izzie Gibson Penrose, class of 2016, has 19 years of advice to give. She loves telling people what to do (but doesn’t take offense if they don’t listen) and lives as strange a life as possible so she has plenty of anecdotes to share. Izzie also enjoys making jokes and baking cupcakes. Email her with questions, concerns, or anything LITERALLY ANYTHING that’s on your mind at gibsis01@gettysburg.edu. She promises to read every email she receives at least once, probably six times.
