The student population studying for finals are fascinating creatures.
Next, there is a dietary shift in students, where once semi-nutritious meals are replaced by caffeine and variants of sugar. The date of the finals attack can be characterized by the temporary nocturnal ability students will gain 1-2 days before the exam. These extra hours are spent sleepily gazing over notes.
Finals day arrives. It begins with a stumble out of bed for panicked students. A frantic last look at notes, caffeine, calculator and a blunt pencil from the lost and found box. Eventually, scurrying into the gym, the student has finally reached the end of their Finals Stress Cycle, and mostly survived.
Why would any student embark on such a tumultuous experience? Well, we don’t really have a choice. In modern day society, there exists an insatiable need for humans to determine who is better.
This feeds into the competitive nature in the human species.
Sports compete through tournaments, ranking, divisions; musicians receive scores for their performance; and thespians compete for the best roles.
Nothing – especially learning – seems to be able to be done without a grade, percentage, or score.
This constant environment of competitions motivates the students as much as it depresses them. It mentally builds up society, while simultaneously tearing it down. Now this begs the question, can humans do anything just for fun?
