As we all know, HMHS midterms are right around the corner. Midterms: daunting, stress-inducing, and all around pretty unfun. Although no one of any grade level looks forward to midterms week, for freshmen who don’t have any midterm experience under their belt, this time of the year is likely even more nerve-wracking. For this reason, the Bulldawg Bulletin team is here to give some helpful tips on how to prepare for and handle your midterms like a pro. (This guide is meant to give freshmen a helping hand, but these tips can definitely benefit any student who may want some tips on how to cope with exams in general. So freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors- hope this helps you out this exam season, and good luck!).

Tip #1: Study

-Stay with me. I know this tip seems redundant, but it’s genuine. Even if you’re 110% positive that you can ace all your exams without it, study. Your parents probably pay a lot of money so that you can go to school here, study here, and consequently to prevent your teenage brain from turning to mush. Here’s a secret: the point of high school isn’t actually to teach you the Pythagorean Theorem or to make sure you remember everything about U.S. history. High school is about learning how to think, how to challenge yourself, and how to strike balance in your life. You really don’t get the same chance to do so later, so I recommend you take advantage of it now. Study.

Tip #2: Make a Plan

-Making a plan takes a huge chunk of stress out of your study day, and allows for your time to be efficiently organized and managed (even if your notes aren’t). Creating a to-do list and working out when you want to have certain things accomplished by creates a collected headspace that leaves you calm enough so that you can do your best work.

Tip #3: Be Nice to Yourself

-A lot of times, stress can lead to frustration with one’s self, especially when it comes to things such as school. If you find yourself getting upset at yourself, whether it’s for not starting to study earlier or not being smart enough, take a step back for a second. You can’t study well when your brain is already filled with inner turmoil. During your brain break, do something productive that’s not related to the thing causing you stress. Grab a glass of water and do your laundry or walk your dog. Then, give yourself some credit. Making a “done” list next to your “to-do list” can make you feel better about a daunting workload, as it allows you to see all that you’ve already accomplished that day. (No thing is too small!) After your break, get back to work. You’ve got this.

Tip #4: Look Ahead

-As midterms approach, think seriously about how you’re going to feel in the next 72 hours. If you’re perfectly content with your future self feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and generally just terrible, then by all means, don’t even crack a book. However, if you’d prefer feeling well-rested, collected, and not miserable, get to work. You’ll thank yourself.

Tip #5: Take it in Stride

-Yes, grades are important. Consequently, midterms are too. I won’t lie to you and say they don’t matter at all. However, no midterm grade will ever define you, mean you’re unintelligent, or trigger the end of the world as we know it. Work hard and try your best, because learning how to work hard is one of the most valuable things you will get out of high school- more valuable than any factoid you will happen to remember from your freshman year English class. Studying for hours and hours for an exam, only to fail, is still a good thing if you let it be. It’s a good thing because you tried. It’s a good thing because now you know whatever study method you used probably isn’t the best for you, and you should give a new one a shot. It’s a good thing because each hour you spent studying was an hour spent on building your work ethic and working your mind. Failing doesn’t mean your work was worthless, it means you’re only going up from here.
Hope these tips help. Good luck on your midterms, everybody! You’re going to do great.