Midterm season is here. Dread it or run from it, destiny arrives all the same. I was watching a TikTok video the other day and it was talking about the semester cycle in which everything is calm during syllabus week. We start out relaxed and somewhere about three weeks into the semester, we miss a class, but brush it off since it was only one day. We then take it lax until we see our roommate frantically saying, “I’m so behind for midterms!” Then you realize: “Wait, I have midterms next week!” Now, you realize you’re also behind. 

Stress begins to take over during this shared time of camaraderie of being unprepared for midterms. Some succumb to the stress, others end up surviving, but not without a little bit of coping and preparation. 

So, to you, my readers, I present my methods of staying organized and sane. My first piece of advice is to exert whatever you’re feeling. If it’s stress, fear or uneasiness, go exert it into something else (not another person preferably) and try to reset your mind to zero. I find writing to be a great way for me to get down whatever I’m feeling. I journal pretty often about the things around me, good or bad; it gets me back into a good mind space once I’ve talked about what’s holding me down. 

Next, take a break. Not a “break” when you’re in the middle of doing your work, like picking up your phone to doom scroll on Instagram or TikTok for two hours instead of being productive. But rather, a real break, where you get up from wherever you’re at and take a walk, grab some food, use the bathroom — a quick refresh, essentially. To genuinely step away from whatever you’re doing. Those 30 minutes would be way more productive than killing your attention span. 

I realized this during finals season of last semester, but keep track of important test dates and make a calendar with all the work you have to catch up on when you’re at the perfect midpoint between the start of class and the midterm. In my case, it was two weeks before Thanksgiving and I realized I did not know any of the class content, so I chose to teach myself one lesson every day for the next month, along with the work due for each class, and I ended up getting an A- in the class. I went from zero to 100 in a month because I was organized and stuck to my plan. Being organized is key to managing what you need to get done and by when. 

I also advise this: one or two social days per week. Now, you can do whatever you want, go out and enjoy some nightlife, hang out with friends, have lunch or dinner together, anything your heart desires, but only one or two days a week, if you can afford it. The balance between fun and work is what allows me to get through these stressful weeks ahead and stay on top of everything. 

Staying sane and calm is especially important during midterm season since we’re only halfway done with the semester. No matter what you’re taking this semester, you got this! I send to the readers my manifestations of those A’s you’ll be getting! Keep your head up and it’ll be fine in the end; you just have to put in a little work.

Gabriel Capellan, FCRH ’28, is a journalism major from the Bronx, New York.