Like most college students, I’m not the biggest fan of finals. I’m just not. The fact that, regardless of how well or poorly you completed every assignment throughout the semester, your final grade is most always dependent on one high-pressured exam has always perturbed me. It’s why I’ve never liked finals and likely never will. Yet that’s not my only take on them. For now, in my fifth college semester, I finally see how finals apply to the real world.
Finals are simply tests. Not in the sense of a mere standardized exam, but a proving ground. They’re an opportunity for you to show what all you learned, mastered, and can use beneficially in the future. If you do well, they can boost your grade tremendously. If not, your grade will suffer and you could potentially fail the course. And they serve as practice. Because life is the same way.
Full of opportunities to prove yourself and show your worth (to your potential parents in law, your own family, employers, youth, etc.) in critical, high-pressure moments. These moments – like the first meeting of the in-laws, the big job interview, etc. – have the potential to bring your goals to fruition or set them back even further. Everything else you do and accomplish in your daily life – much like the various assignments throughout the semester-long class – are simply preparing you for these vital tests.
A more specific example of this is an audition for a play. You may have tons of experience, and even more practice for the specific part your trying out for, but whether or not you get the part is dependent on your audition. It doesn’t matter how bad or well you looked and sounded when practicing, or even in previous productions (for school, prerequisite classes). The audition, the comparably short amount of time to prove your worth, will make or break you. If you succeed, great! If not it’s back to training and starting the whole process over, preparing for the next time.
Knowing this, I still don’t like finals. Especially since one of my finals is worth 50% of my grade. I do, however, realize and appreciate their usefulness. That being said, I’m going to stop this post here so I can study. The rest of my finals are next week, and I plan on passing the tests.
Until next time.
– JP
P.S. – Next Saturday will be the last The New Adult post of the year, so be sure to come back then!
If you got something out of this post (’cause, to be honest, your “liking it” wasn’t the purpose), be sure to subscribe to The New Adult!
And if you haven’t already, go follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest!
