Don’t worry, be happy.

Don’t worry, be happy. After reading the advice of my fellow law students below, I have to admit I am pretty happy with my current state of mind regarding finals. Yes, there is certainly some stress involved – but for the most part exams are already in the bag. It almost seems like a formality to show up for the tests themselves. The key to finals is being prepared. My perspective is that we have been preparing for finals since the first day of class. Going through the term with this is in mind helps to keep the fear at bay. Perhaps I will change my tune after seeing the resulting grades, but for now I am happy and satisfied with my relaxed approach to the process. My approach can be demonstrated by a quick look at my outlines. Many students seem to work hard on building extensive outlines, often stretching to 40 or more pages. While serving as the web editor for the SBA I had the pleasure of uploading dozens of these comprehensive outlines, and began to question the wisdom of using such encyclopedic references. The result is that my own outlines are simple and utilitarian. Generally 3-4 pages for each class, corresponding to the 3-4 hours that the tests will last. Is this a good strategy? I can’t actually say at this point, other than to note that it hasn’t impacted my comfort in approaching the exams, and has saved me a week of intense pain and suffering in the library. I feel rested and excited to be facing my finals, rather than tired and overwhelmed, which is a victory in and of itself. Today I take my second of four finals, and plan to spend the next two days on my snowboard before returning to the books on Sunday. It might not be the best way to tackle exam week, but it feels right to me. Stressing out has never been my style.