Fall is my favorite time of the year. The leaves change color, the air is crisp (even in Claremont), and the sun hangs a little lower in the sky, foreshadowing the inevitable chills of winter. The sweaters come out, the apple-picking ensues, and pumpkin pops up in every possible product. It’s a beautiful time of year, and with Fall Break around the corner, it’s hard not to be excited about this lovely season.

Despite all the perks of autumn, it also comes with a cost: The midterm rush has begun.

We’ve settled into classes by now, and (hopefully) figured out sustainable routines. And with a break on the horizon, it’s more than enough motivation to get through the seventh week of the semester. For me, there never seems to be a time when college slows down. There’s never an allotted (or acceptable) time to “chill,” because of college’s 24/7 fast-paced nature. So this week, I’d like to put my career posts on hold to talk about something that’s been on my mind a while: The dreaded midterm season.

Sometimes, it comes in waves. In the past, you’ve had an essay due one week, and a presentation the next. No problem; you’ve endured worse in your college experience. But what happens when you have an entire week of insanity? What happens when you have a midterm, project, and two essays due within a four-day span?

That will be me in two weeks. I will endure those late-night study sessions, fueled by heavy doses of Matcha Chachas and Trader Joe’s snacks. Everyone gets through midterm season, one way or another. We always do the best we can, and survive when faced with these unpleasant circumstances. How do you get through a stressful academic week?

My methods of coping during these weeks are nightmarish. My structured schedule goes out the window: I stay up late, I wake up early, I drink caffeine until it becomes the blood pumping through my veins, and I eat all the chocolate in sight. In the past, I have studied in the same place for days. The library has become my study space, cafeteria, and bedroom during finals week.

What’s worse is that during this time, I completely isolate myself from the world. A friend might text me reminding me that we have dinner plans Monday. and I’ll cancel: I’m busy studying for a midterm Friday. Yes, four days in advance, I’ve already become a basket case, endlessly obsessing over the test and predicting the worst will occur. You get the picture: I become a little monster when finals roll around.

We all have different strategies to get through these stressful times, but I wanted to get some expert advice on preparing mentally and physically for a test. Here are some tips to get help through these crazy times, according to US News. 

1. Plan ahead. Know in advance when your busiest times arise by checking the syllabus for each class. Invest in a planner, or even a calendar to plot all your major academic, extracurricular, and social events. At the beginning of each semester, I go through the tedious process of adding each outstanding assignment into my schedule. I’ll also add a note a week before each big project, reminding myself to get started studying early. That way, I’m not blindsided the night before an essay is due or a test is assigned.

2. Take breaks. With so much to do in so little time, you may feel like your only option is to work nonstop. But the opposite is true: Your brain needs a little R&R time to better absorb the material. Especially when changing between subjects, take some time to recharge and shift gears, and reward yourself with a little rest!

3. Be kind to your body. Try to get as much sleep as possible, especially the night before an exam. And know when to go to bed. If you’ve already been studying for three hours, and feel your brain melting to mush, it’s time to put down the flashcards. You’re no longer absorbing meaningful information, and only losing precious sleep time by staying up. It may not be possible to get the ideal 7-8 hours every night, but do the best you can to maximize your sleeping time. Maintain good hygiene by taking showers and doing laundry. Nothing feels worse than rolling into a test in dirty clothes.

4. Eat Well and Exercise: As the article says, these are often the first to go. It’s true: With only a day left to study for a test, we usually don’t think about going for a run or grabbing the most nutritional meal. But even the littlest changes can make a huge difference: You don’t have to run a marathon, but take a 15-minute walk to break up studying time. Remember to eat breakfast, get your proteins and your greens, and eat regularly. I love turning to Pinterest during finals week for some awesome snack ideas!

The article didn’t include this last tip, but I wanted to remind you that no matter what the results, just do your best. Put your best effort into that test, essay or project, and remember: It’s just one assignment. Though it may seem like the weight of the world rests on the grade, are you really going to remember how you did on that one midterm, five years from now? Most likely, you will not. Good luck, and have a wonderful Fall Break!

Guest Blogger Julia Thomas

My internship at Marie Claire and experience working in New York has played a tremendous role in allowing me to fully experience how a monthly magazine functions and what working there consists of. In my time at the magazine from May to August, I had the chance to witness three issues of the magazine through the stages of production and conduct research on a wide variety of topics, ranging from human trafficking in North Dakota to college drop outs, to breast cancer and emerging entrepreneurs. I also had the chance to meet with different editors to hear about their work and attend a Marie Claire work panel to learn from staff members about how to prepare and perform in the professional work place. And, on a more informal level, I got to learn from women who are incredibly talented and passionate about what they do, and willing to share their experiences.

Much of the internship centered around projects and tasks that we were given on a daily and/or weekly basis, but the internship also provided my fellow interns and me the opportunity to pitch article ideas to MarieClaire.com. In doing so, I gained firsthand experience in submitting pitches, reporting and writing an article, and working with a web editor to see the piece through to publication. This opportunity to pitch and publish a piece on the magazine’s website was a fantastic chance to expand beyond the work I did in Features to online material.

Though my work at Marie Claire, consisted primarily of research, fact checking, writing, transcribing interviews, and immersion in the Features department, I also had the chance to work for MC’s Tech Editor and fill in as the Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of MC. I worked one day a week for Marie Claire’s Tech Editor and the Assistant to the Creative Director, primarily writing drafts of online, tech related stories, researching the latest tech products to feature on the magazine’s tech page, and writing copy (captions and headlines) for the tech page. In doing so, I gained a clear idea about what goes into a single page of the magazine and how to creatively present a product. The other interns and I worked collaboratively to research and think about different themes, and I learned so much from working with a group to put together a single product to present to the editor. We had to work efficiently and think fast before deadlines as a small team, which was a really valuable, and often times really fun, experience.

At Marie Claire, in New York, and in the media industry, you have to stay on your toes. There’s a constant need to be aware and thinking about deadlines, to be conscientious and connected to the people around you and what’s being talked about. I learned about this first hand during the full week I spent working as the Assistant to Marie Claire’s Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider, when her assistant was on a vacation. I was asked to fill in for the position, much to my delight and utter surprise, and learned from the assistant how to do her job, which consists of managing Anne’s schedule, ensuring she has everything she needs at work on a given day and things stay on time, and generally serving as an extra brain for her super packed days. In working in the assistant’s position for a week, I was able to see the wide spectrum of things both she and Anne do on a weekly basis: I set up meetings, gathered together editors before discussions in Anne’s office, and did research and general organization to prepare for upcoming issues, meetings, and each day’s schedule.

Working for Marie Claire this summer was truly one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m incredibly thankful to the Scripps College community and Ms. Linda Davis Taylor for supporting me in taking this amazing opportunity at Marie Claire in New York. I would not have been able to do it without you, and feel that I’m returning to Scripps with a fresh take on my career, new excitement about living in New York one day, and passion for feature writing and digging into new topics.

Guest Blogger Meghana Ravikumar

It was my first day of teaching at Breakthrough Silicon Valley. I had so many visions of what this experience would be like and I couldn’t wait to get started. Little did I know that I was in for one of the biggest challenges of my life!

As I stood in front of my first class of 11, all I could see was complete boredom and disinterest in my students’ faces, who looked as if they would rather be anywhere else. As I posed simple prompting questions, the classroom remained utterly silent, leaving me standing nervously at the front, unsure of what to do. No one seemed interested in the activities I had planned at all, or my efforts to get them to speak, and my heart plummeted.

Given that I had always been that student who was very excited to participate it class, the students’ deathly silence was incredibly disheartening. I grew resigned to the fact that this was how it would be. However, as time passed, I realized that maybe there were other reasons.

One of my students, Leah, was an incredibly bubbly and popular girl. Even though her homework reflected great effort, she was withdrawn and quiet in class. Eventually, I realized that this was because she didn’t think she was good enough. Whenever I called on her, she would make comments such as “Why don’t you call on Jill instead? She always knows the answer. I’m not smart”. Given the quality of her homework and the thoughtfulness of her opinions the rare times she did speak up, the fact that she thought this way completely shocked me. How could a girl who was so vibrant and loud outside of class be the same as the girl who made these comments? It was unbelievable. I wanted so badly for Leah to see in her what I did, so I decided to show her. On a piece of paper, I wrote “Leah you are…” and surrounded it with character traits that I felt described her and explained why (this was especially relevant as we had just done a lesson on character traits!). I also wrote a letter to her about how unhelpful beliefs about my intelligence during childhood had limited my ability to fulfill my potential. I ended by telling her that everyone has something share and teach others. I gave this to her on last day of class, and she hastily stuffed it into her backpack.

The next day, Leah caught me in the bathroom and told me that she had bawled while reading it and that no one had never done something so nice for her. We cried together afterwards, and she kept saying thank you to me, so happy that someone believed in her. She promised me that she would speak up in class in high school. I felt so happy that I had helped her begin to recognize her potential.

I realized that there is so much more to students than the side they reveal to others. I had previously assumed that students didn’t speak in class because they didn’t care, but Leah’s story completely contradicted all of my assumptions.

I have always been interested in learning about people and understanding how people think. Breakthrough helped me realize that I love working with young people and being a mentor, supporter, and advocate to them. So many kids out there need someone to look up to and someone there to say “I see you. I believe in you. And I care about how you do.” I want to be that person for kids in need.

This is a picture of me with my crew leader (wearing the suit in the back) and my crew. Each teacher was assigned a partner and together were called “crew leaders”. Each pair of crew leaders was assigned 10-11 kids to be in charge of- you eat lunch and brunch with them, play games with them, and more. They become your family!

An unforgettable part of Breakthrough is the close relationships you develop with students. Weeks after Breakthrough ended, my colleague (another teacher) Ashley and I attended our student Derek’s Vietnamese singing performance!