Finals are something that I have never looked forward to doing. They have always caused so much stress, knowing that one test can make or break my grade that I have worked all semester for. Now that senior year has come around, I feel like I’ve already done enough work to prove myself. I’ve spent months working on essays, college applications, projects and studying for tests, and adding another big exam just feels exhausting. I hate the way finals bear so much weight on my shoulders, especially due to the fact that they have so much power over my grade.
As a senior, I am under a lot of pressure, and doing finals just adds more. Many of my classes are not providing in-class review days and we are continuing to learn new material. It becomes very difficult because there is only so much free time that I have available. I need to study for finals, as well as end of unit tests. The work load never ends. All of this just adds on top of my other classwork, college applications, extracurriculars and everything in between.
I also don’t like how finals take away from my final high school experiences I actually care about. Instead of using my senior year to figure out where I want to go in life, and cherish the last memories with the people at my school, I’m stuck memorizing formulas or dates that won’t matter once the test is done. Finals just feel like something that needs to be done in order to survive the class. I never found any benefit or value in taking them. Even when teachers try to make them “fair” or “helpful,” it doesn’t change the feeling of stress that comes with a timed exam after a long semester. By this point, seniors are already juggling college decisions and applications, jobs, extracurriculars and everything else that comes with preparing for life after high school. Finals just pile on extra pressure and stress that isn’t needed.
As a senior, I have reached a point in high school, where I’ve spent years building up my knowledge, responsibility and work habits. A final exam doesn’t suddenly measure all of that. A single stressful test should not be able to determine my success as a student. All of the hard work put into the class throughout the course of the semester is something that should overweigh the power of a single test.
Seniors deserve to end high school feeling bittersweet, not exhausted. Finals don’t make us smarter or more prepared, they just add unnecessary stress at a time when we should be celebrating everything we’ve accomplished. After four years of hard work, we’ve already proven ourselves. Finals shouldn’t determine our academic success and get in the way of enjoying the end of our high school career.
