Whereas most college kids I know writhe in agony at the thought of finals, Yalies, at least Yalies like me, think it’s a great time of the year! Ok, so I am only a freshman, and I might be riding on a high because it is my first time experiencing “Final’s Week”, but I absolutely loved it!
It all starts with a countdown. Two weeks of classes left… One week left… And the last day of classes was here! After a grueling first semester at Yale, this was a very welcome thought. I didn’t have to wake up 9am for that English writing class or go to an Economics session when all I want to do is stay in my room. Don’t get me wrong; I loved my classes. But sometimes, we need a break even from the things we love.
You’d think that after classes end we’d go right into finals, right? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but we didn’t! We went into a period known as “Reading Week”. It is a very strange sounding title, and it was an even stranger concept to me. I come from Uganda, and in our education system, you are expected to be ready for Finals as soon as classes end. At Yale, however, my professors were giving me a chance to consolidate all that I had learned, and that wasn’t even the best part…
The amount of food available during Reading Week is incredible! Under the guise of the name “Study Breaks”, different clubs and activities, residential colleges, freshman counselors and cultural houses consistently feed us! They provide food as common as “A Big Mac” to an exotic Jamaican meal. I practically lived on these breaks during Reading Week. Not only are they a good place to fill your tummy after 3 hours of tireless studying, but they also provide an opportunity to catch up with your pals. And the Study Breaks continue into Finals Week!
Reading Week is also a good time to reconnect with friends. I grabbed dinner with friends from Orientation that I hadn’t seen in ages, and met even more people during these “planned dinners”.
All in all, my first Finals week at Yale was a positive experience! I had to study hard, but I felt like a lot was done to make this very intense and scary time of the year a lot easier to get through.