If you’re anything like me, you probably have found yourself wondering how in the world it is already time for final exams. How do I prepare? Should I pull an all-nighter the night before? When will I sleep? Will I have time to eat? What’s the lowest grade I can make on this final to keep my B?

These are all questions that have been running through my head and the heads of others as we find the semester coming to a close. Finals are stressful. The week of final exams feels never ending. So what do you do?

For starters, get organized. Seriously, make a calendar. Pencil in when all of your finals are and figure out which ones will require more of your time in terms of studying. Set aside time each day to study. Breaking down your studying will really help you not burn out and give up. It will also help you retain the information you’re looking over.

Secondly, don’t forget to eat. You may not realize it, but your body will be much more fatigued and sluggish if you aren’t eating regularly. And I don’t mean grabbing something out of the vending machine. Make it a priority to eat healthy and balanced meals during finals week. Your brain will thank you.

If big meals aren’t your thing, there are so many different snacks that can help fuel your body through the week. Avoid the high processed crap and stick to the basics.

My go-to staple on the run is trail mix. Although I tend to make my own so I can pick what I want in my personal batch, there are plenty of good trail mix blends out there. The dried fruit and mixed nut blends are a great choice if you want to grab a bag.

Not a trail mix fan? Grab some fresh fruit and peanut butter. The nut butters are full of protein and you can’t go wrong with fresh fruit. Veggie sticks and hummus are another delicious snack option.

Although food can hugely impact your energy level during exam week, staying hydrated is key.

Don’t forget to drink water. We all turn to caffeine to perk us up during finals, but caffeine is actually extremely dehydrating. If you’re chugging coffee and energy drinks, make sure you drink more water than usual to compensate.

Thirdly, don’t forget to sleep.

I’m known for saying, “You can sleep when you’re dead,” but exam week is the exception to my motto. Taking an exam when you’re sleep-deprived is miserable. Take my word for it. Seriously, don’t do it. You’ll be in a terrible mood, probably feel pretty crappy and you won’t be able to concentrate as well as you’d like to.

Make sure you pencil in sleep along with your exams on that calendar you make.

While exams can be extremely stressful for many, there are plenty of ways to make that stress less intense.

Plan, eat and sleep.

It’s inevitable that every time I have a big assignment due in one class, every other professor feels the need to make all of their assigned work due at the exact same time.

In addition to a heavy workload, the extracurricular activities conveniently start piling up as well. It never fails.

I find it ironic when people say, “The semester is winding down,” when really the semester is getting brutally chaotic.

It is practically impossible to resist such amazing spring weather. Stay in and study or go outside and have some fun? Let’s be honest. Most of us are going to ditch the textbooks (if you even use them) and go outside.

So what do you do when everything is due? If you are like me, you will procrastinate until the last minute, get overwhelmed and pray that it works out—and hope that you’re not forgetting anything. Trust me—that is not the best way to handle this situation.

Recently I have been trying to change my usual studying habits, or lack thereof, and find more useful ways to spend my time.

We have all heard the time management speech before in some way, shape or form. We all know useful study techniques. We all know procrastination is bad. We know, we know, we know. We’ve been told all of this time and time again.

Being college students, our problem lies within our lack of motivation and inability to deal with distractions. I can’t speak for everyone of course, but for most of us, this is exactly our problem.

What’s more motivating than rewards? Everyone likes rewards. It doesn’t matter if it’s a piece of chocolate or an hour dedicated to leisure activities. Find something that is worth working for, since apparently the reassurance of an ‘A’ isn’t enough motivation.

When I’m feeling unmotivated, I try to remind myself that summer is around the corner. Sunning and running: two things that I could not start my summer without doing. I know I have to survive the semester in order to make it to summer.

Easily distracted? That is okay. My attention span barely outlasts that of a goldfish, but I still get things done. I just know that if I plan to be productive, I need to have enough going on that my mind doesn’t get the chance to wander off.

Sometimes I even work on multiple assignments at the same time so I don’t get bored and careless.

Most importantly, we need to remember that the semester is almost over. We can’t give up when are so close to finishing. Though it seems like we are drowning in work, it’s the opportune time to learn how to swim.

With that being said, we have some work to do.

Do I have to share a bathroom? How much walking will I be doing? How much money should I spend? How many roommates should I have?

I heard from different people many times that the infamous high rises were the place to be.

“The high rises give you the best freshman experience,” they said.

Knowing the dorms are not exactly the Plaza Hotel, I went with the high rises. I typed Sanford Hall into that number one slot on my housing application and now that is where I’m currently staying. A cold corner room with cement block walls and a bathroom down the hall.

I signed a single room contract in October because I was terrified of repeating the nightmare I was living when I first moved into the dorms. I call the place I have been living in for the past seven months my jail cell.

After much consideration, I recently decided where I am going to be living next fall for my sophomore year.

I will be living at Walden Station. Yes, the off-campus apartment buildings that are being built as I write this story.

To say that I am excited would be an understatement. I do think that living on-campus for your first year of college is the right choice. You really do get that ‘freshman experience’ everyone is talking about, and you have a safe place to make your college transition.

Many factors were considered when deciding where to live in the fall.

I did not just choose to live in an off-campus apartment for my own bathroom. That just happens to be one of the perks. The financial aspect definitely played a part in the decision-making process.

Whether you are an out-of-state student or not, college is expensive. No matter which residence hall you choose, you are going to be paying the housing fees and paying for a meal plan.

I don’t know about anyone else, but Crown or RDH are not my first choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Basically, my meal swipes go to waste.

My family is paying thousands of dollars for food that I’m not eating. Living in a larger, newer and more private space with a spacious kitchen will actually save money.

Living off-campus allows you to get out from under the requirement of purchasing a traditional meal plan. Having a full kitchen in an off-campus apartment also gives you a bit more variety and freedom to prepare your own meals.

Healthier options and routines can hopefully reverse that ‘freshman 15.’

As of right now, more walking is in the picture for me next year. I chose an off-campus apartment when I do not even have a car in North Carolina. In my mind, the payoff is going to be more than worth it.

All of these things sound great, but it is as simple as this: do not choose off-campus living if you don’t think you can handle it. Living within the campus boundaries does not allow for as many distractions as off-campus living does.

The transition from high school to college is already a huge change when it comes to the amount of freedom we have. Off-campus living may push the limits for some students.

I know that I am ecstatic about living in an apartment next year, but that does not mean I can let the academic side of college go out the window.

Just remember to keep the pros and cons of your different living options in mind. I may have given you a little perspective, but ultimately this inevitable decision is up to you.

There really is nothing better than being hundreds of miles from home and having your first college melt down. Not.

Speaking from experience, just being an out-of-state student adds to the everyday stress of the college lifestyle—no less when a crisis strikes.

The moment you realize that you can’t go home and soak in the bathtub after a long day or you can’t go home to your queen-sized bed just to get an adequate sleep for once is the worst feeling ever. Maybe that’s a girl thing; but truth is, the convenience of home is stripped away.

I never realized how many things I took for granted: being able to do my laundry and actually getting my clothes dried, being able to take a shower in my own sanitary bathroom, or even just being able to eat familiar foods.

I was awake until 2 a.m. one night because I was craving Arni’s pizza—which can only be found in Indiana. Talk about desperate to get home!

But whether you are craving pizza at 2 a.m. or just missing your mommy—boys, we all know you do it too—not being able to go home without catching a $500 flight is such a frustrating and helpless feeling.

If you’ve never experienced that feeling, just wait until you get in trouble for the first time and don’t know how to handle it, or you get so sick that you can’t do anything without help.

If that isn’t bad enough, try dealing with long distance relationships. Being homesick and lovesick is a disastrous combination and creates a profusion of potential issues. Three strikes—you’re out—flat-out out of your mind.

So why do we do it? Why do we deal with it all?

Frankly, I have no idea.

If I had a quarter for every time I questioned my decision about coming here I would be able to pay for tuition. Well– I take that back– not out-of-state-tuition, because that’s just ridiculous.

The point is, I try to picture my life without this experience, and I simply can’t do it.

Every trial, every time that I’ve wanted to say “I’m done,” every mini-meltdown, has all been worth it.

I’m at a school I like, in a state I love, with some of the most fantastic people I could have ever met. Besides it’s Niner baseball season and that makes everything better

Despite the curveballs and strikeouts we may have endured this season, there are only eight innings left until the finish—or weeks rather.

Though home seems so far away when you are sitting in the dugout, we will all eventually get the chance to run home. Meanwhile sit back and enjoy the game!

Whether you got stuck in a high rise or placed in a dorm like Lynch, you may have found, as a freshman, it is nearly impossible to stay healthy. For some of us, fighting off a cold has become almost a weekly battle. For others, allergies are knocking you down. But if you are lucky like me, you may have even contracted mononucleosis while still dealing with both allergies and colds.

During my freshman year, I spent the entire first semester in bed. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am sick of getting sick.

So, how do we stay healthy while living in a dorm?

Though living in close proximities with hundreds of people and trillions of germs isn’t the ideal way to stay healthy, there are a few things we can do to increase our chances.

For starters, learning stress management techniques and getting plenty of rest are key. For most, balancing schoolwork and a social life can be very stressful and leaves little time for sleep. Too much stress and not enough rest can weaken our immune systems. Believe me, whatever you are sick with will be more than happy to kick you while you are down.

To make matters worse, if you have ever had to deal with “that roommate,” you’ll know what I mean. Having roommate issues adds enough stress to break anyone’s immune system down. Thankfully, I have wonderful roommates now, but it’s crucial that you find a way to manage your relationship with your roommate or roommates, otherwise being sick won’t be the only thing you will be sick of.

Secondly, try to keep your room clean. Not only does cleaning up the clutter reduce stress, but it also reduces allergen and bacteria build up. Likewise, try to open a window every now and then to let some fresh air in. As we all know, tiny rooms can get stuffy very quickly.

Unfortunately, my room is and was the least of my worries. Sharing a bathroom with three to 11 other individuals doesn’t help anything. They spread their germs all over the place where I’m supposed to get clean. How is that supposed to work?

Most importantly, I’ve found the key to staying healthy is getting myself out of the germ-infested room. Just because we have to share a living space with these people doesn’t mean we constantly have to subject ourselves to their germs.

Even the strongest immune system will falter from time to time. Frankly, I don’t have time for that. No one does. So when the sickness hits, the best advice is to make sure you do your best not to spread it to others, and get on your way to a speedy recovery.

We’ve heard the remedy a million times: Rest, water and medicine. Nevertheless, I’ve discovered the best way to feel better is to try to avoid getting sick in the first place.

Each hall has two stalls and two showers. Let’s not pretend that these accommodations are at any luxurious level, but we can agree that there is a way to maintain a suitable living environment.

There are clearly more people than there are bathrooms, so it is up to us to respect one another and share the best we can. We have a wide spectrum of individuals living under one roof now and it becomes clear in many of their habits.

As an example, I have encountered some individuals that I would consider “Divas.”

They don’t respect boundaries and when it comes to the bathrooms, they act as if they own the place. I have woken up on a given morning to the hall bathroom door closed entirely. All I wanted was to brush my teeth and what do I find?

A girl blasting music and claiming the entire bathroom to herself. There was steam everywhere and I found myself having to knock on my own public bathroom.

Can I also mention that it shocks me how messy some people can be? Picture this: Fresh out of your bed you wander to the bathroom, enter one of the stalls to find toilet paper everywhere.

Not only that, but when you wash your hands the soap is out and the spit from someone who brushed their teeth before you still remains in the sink. When you look up at your reflection in the mirror there are little bits of toothpaste obstructing your view. How hard is it to brush your teeth, honestly?

When it comes to showering, wrapped up in your towel you enter the stall and close the curtain. I pray that you make the right decision and wear some type of shower shoe. Watch out when it comes to how hot the water can get, and the pressure changes with the flush of a toilet.

I hope that you were not one of the students who got locked out of their room after having showered. How unfortunate that would be.

As far as etiquette goes, be mindful of those who live on your hall. Don’t be rude and rush people, because we are all trying to accomplish the same things.

If you have to wait for a shower, be patient. Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly every now and then.

If someone says “Good morning” or asks how you are doing, don’t stare them down. Just provide a nice simple response.

However, throughout the week there were problems with many of the elevators. It was quite the struggle for all of us who were trying to make our way to and from our dorm rooms.

Many of us became agitated by waiting several minutes for our turn. It wasn’t uncommon for groups of people, especially guys, to give up on waiting and take the stairs.

I did my share of walking up to the top floors, and it provided quite the workout. It is, as you would assume, much easier to walk down than it is to motivate yourself to go up each flight of stairs.

I also had my fair share of cramped elevator trips; it isn’t very fun to be stuck between several sweaty guys that just got finished working out.

As you walked through your hall, or even as you stood in the elevator, you were not surprised to hear many people complaining about the inconvenience of our current elevator situation.

Many people vented on the common courtesies of using the elevator. Let me tell you, not a single passenger appreciated it when someone from the lower levels got on the elevator to go down to the main floor.

Having gathered many different outlooks on the situation, I do agree that there are some common elevator courtesies that would make living in the high rises a bit more manageable.

In a situation where the elevators are having problems and many people are waiting to use them, it appears inconsiderate to use the elevator to go down or up just a few floors.

In the end, it is not that difficult to walk down a few flights of stairs. That way, the people that are trying to use the elevator to go up to the top floors will have less of a waiting time.

This does not mean that those who stay on the upper floors need to have an attitude. Any student that stays in a high rise may argue that it is their right to use the elevator whenever they please, and they are correct.

We all share this building together. The best way to approach this situation is to be as considerate and patient as possible.

In the end, we are all trying to accomplish the same thing and it isn’t going to make things progress any better when you become argumentative or rude.

It was slightly alarming how serious some people were about the use of elevators. If you can’t tolerate waiting and being respectful, maybe you should just take the stairs.

Oh, and one thing that really irritates me: if you see that someone is heading for the elevator, do not close the door in their face. Do your best to hold the elevator and give everyone an opportunity to get in.

Let’s start off by agreeing that the so called “professional movers” during move-in may have needed a little more experience in the work field.

Claiming your dorm and organizing your possessions might have became an all night job as lines of cars waited to unload. Many of us over packed, while others found they needed to buy a thing or two.

The journey up the elevators and many flights of stairs to one of the freshmen high rises will not be your last hike on campus. In fact, over the course of this week most of us have walked more than we had in any high school setting. Let’s fight off the freshmen fifteen together, shall we?

Which brings us to food and the “variety” of choices on campus. The Resident Dining Hall may not be large, but it sure has been convenient, as it’s located fairly close to all four high rises.

Many of us have shared a meal and made new friends while getting a taste of the menu for the rest of the semester. Then there is Bojangles’, Chick-fil-A and maybe even Starbucks if you’re a coffee drinker.

Be careful, the dining hall food may not be the best, but your declining balance will dwindle right before your eyes.

As the week progressed, we were able to notice the campus hot spots and the value of free food, no matter the occasion. The social encounters this week have been plentiful and welcoming.

Hopefully most of us have met many great new people, especially our roommates. Compromises and patience will be a requirement as we build a community within our halls.

For all those who made this week about partying and going out, let’s not forget the purpose of college: getting an education. Whether you showed up on time bright and early or perhaps a little bit late, professors were understanding and there to help.

There were no lack of assignments. Was anyone else caught up in line after line for textbooks and other supplies?

Staying up late and getting up for 8 a.m. classes didn’t seem like an issue for some freshmen, but best of luck to you as the first week hype dies down into a weekly grind of classes and college level study.

The best advice would be to pace yourself and take the time to enjoy all the beauty this campus has to offer, while managing your workload and time accordingly.

The worst part about this time of the year is that summer is within our grasp. High temperatures spouting up every other week and teachers saying, “So I guess all we have left is this, this and this.” At the beginning of the semester this wasn’t a problem. I used to sit down and do homework days before it was due. Now the night before class I’m doing all of the work that I should have been working on a week ago.

It isn’t just work that I’m procrastinating on either. Two of my final exams are on the same day at the same time. I’ve been thinking about doing something about it for a few weeks but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

I blame Netflix. Every episode of Law and Order available for me to watch instantly? Ahh, who needs work.

The only answer now is to work on a fool-proof way to avoid procrastinating. And no it doesn’t involve cancelling Netflix (blasphemy!).

I could lock myself in a room with nothing but my textbooks and a computer. But then again that would send me back to Netflix.

I could lock myself in a room with nothing but my textbooks and a computer without Internet. But then I wouldn’t be able to use Wikipedia to write my papers. Uh, or should I say scholarly online sources pertaining to my topic. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

This is obviously the great, unanswered struggle of college. To work or not to work. That is the question.  There’s still three more years of this scuffle.  Three more years of coming up with some meaningless task to complete instead of doing my real work. Three more years of scrubbing my bathroom walls to avoid reading a chapter in a textbook. Three more years of rearranging my closet so I don’t have to write papers.

No amount of organization, scheduling and dedication can help this turmoil be avoided. No matter how many times you say, “I’ll do that tonight” you never will.  Unless it is due tomorrow. Then you might do it tonight.

All I know is, I don’t want to deal with this every year until I graduate. I should come up with a comprehensive plan to destroy procrastination right now. A plan equipped with a PowerPoint, 10 page paper and a speech to provide audiences with understanding of my detailed plan. And luckily doing that means I don’t have to do my real work.

In 1940 5 percent of the country had a bachelor’s degree and in 2010 almost 30 percent had the very same level of education and were vying for the very same jobs.

In college we still learn out of textbooks. We get a book-based education but where is the meaningful experience to set us apart from others in the workforce? When I graduate from UNC Charlotte I don’t want to be like the other 30 percent of the country and only able to rely on a piece of paper to get me a job.

I feel like college isn’t as significant as it used to be when it comes to landing a job. When only 5 percent of people had a degree it was something special and it set you apart. Now people only go to college just because you have to in order to have any chance of doing something, or so we’re told.

A college degree is not the golden ticket into the Wonka factory of the workforce.

Now nobody do anything hasty and drop out of school. You still should get that degree you’re working your little hiney off to get. That degree will still be helpful, pinky promise but it shouldn’t be relied on. Thirty percent of people have a degree too. To be a part of the competitive workforce of modern-day America we must bring something else to the table. It is never too late.

I’m lucky because I’m still a freshman. I have three years minimum ahead of me before I finish my B.A. and I can devote plenty of my time making myself more marketable. And let’s be real who doesn’t want to be marketable at first glance when employers will only spend a few seconds on your resume before moving on to the next?

Even though I know I have time to do what I need to do to get a job, I also know how many other people also have the time to do what they need to do and have every intention of doing it. That prospect makes me wonder how the concept of graduate school fits into all of this mess.

Unfortunately, I think graduate school is making the same transition that a bachelor’s degree made from 1940 to now. More and more people around me are talking about their plans for graduate school. Either I hang out with the most ambitious people in the country or soon not even a degree of that level will be enough to set someone apart from others in their field.

I’m not trying to scare anybody. All I’m saying is even though we’re freshman we need to think about the future. It matters because if we don’t prepare now when we can, there is no hope for later on.