McPherson High School is halfway through the year, and the end of the first semester is coming fast. Joining the end of the semester, nearly every student will be gifted with a series of tests and final projects to wrap up 2016. A large portion of these tests are comprehensive and weighted, and whether that works for students’ benefit is debatable. One thing is for sure- we need all the motivation we can get to make it through these next few weeks.

“I have a hard time paying attention during finals week,” said Gillian Martin, a senior at MHS, “I just get so excited when I think about Christmas, and that makes me want to doze off and dream of lit-up houses.”

  As Albert Einstein once said, “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” Making it through two days chocked full with long tests is only possible with the right outlook. Sure, you could stumble around in a haze and let it pass you by. It’s tempting to only think about the Christmas break that’s so close and so appetizing. However, before we start daydreaming about sugar plums and our extra time to sleep in, we have to stay conscious enough to pass our classes.

  Finals are hard, no question. They’re even harder when we can’t focus on the tasks in front of us. So, the only sad solution to this is to ignore the fact that Christmas is so close. If we blindsight ourselves, we’ll be able to finally finish that math assignment that was due last week.

  “I know I need to study so I don’t fail, but sometimes I procrastinate until it’s almost too late,” said Martin.    

  Many students have recommended ways to cope with this and still give their best efforts in school. From cat naps, candy breaks, and jamming out to their favorite songs, every student is fighting the battle in their own way.

  “I usually make some tea and play some soft music so I don’t get distracted,” said Martin, “It usually helps at least a little, but some days I still can’t focus.”

  There are millions of ways we’d rather spend the weeks leading up to Christmas, but we have to take the good with the bad.

   “If you never tasted a bad apple, you would not appreciate a good apple. If you were never sad, you would not know how it feels to be happy. If you never had negative thoughts, you would not learn the power of positive thinking. You have to experience life to understand life,” says Jeekeshen Chinnappen, as he doles out wisdom for our final days.