Finals Week
December 5th, 2025
Writer: Nicolette Peremen
Editor: Sophia Wohl
I arrive, at first, very quietly. I am a shadow on your perfectly decorated calendar; I am a whisper in your professors’ reminders, and no matter how much you hate to admit it, you know I am soon to arrive. Even still, you hope I will take my sweet time–I will not. Then suddenly, I am here–looming over your days, filling your nights with flashcards, outlines, and the hum of your overworked computer. You see me as your enemy, but that could not be further from the truth. I am merely a test of what you’ve gathered, a mirror of your discipline, and the measure of your resilience.
I sit, as I witness you juggling deadlines, intaking caffeine, and spitting out self deprecating remarks. I scan over the color-coded schedules taped to your walls, scribbled notes carefully hidden in the margins, and listen to your whispered pep talks just before cracking open another textbook. I know the weight I carry: grades, futures, expectations; however, I also know the strength you discover when you face me head-on. I am much weaker than you realize, especially once you learn that knowledge is not simply memorized–it is lived, practiced, and recalled under pressure.
It is important to remember that I am not solely about academics. Instead, I am about the choices you make when exhaustion tempts you to quit; I am about the friendships forged in late-night study sessions; the laughter that breaks tension; the small victories that remind you progress is definitely possible. Most importantly, I am the anxiety you wrestle with, but also the subsequent pride you immerse yourself in when you realize you have endured and claimed the throne.
When I leave, I leave you lighter. Relief floods the halls, celebrations spill in the streets, and suddenly, you find yourself breathing again. Sadly for you, I do not disappear entirely. I linger in the lessons you carry forward: discipline, resilience, and balance. I serve to remind you that you are capable of more than you ever imagined or allowed yourself to believe. I am finals week, and though I challenge you, I also reveal you–to yourself, your peers, and the future you are building.
