Lesson 1: How to Survive Hell Week

When I first came to college, I thought for sure that finals week would be the most daunting of tasks throughout the semester.

I found out about fifteen weeks later this was not the case whatsoever. (Disclaimer: This may not be true for other majors, but this is the general consensus for music majors at my university.)

In fact, finals week is one of the more fun weeks of the semester. In one day, I might have up to three finals, but other days I may not have any! With each passing day, more and more of a burden lifts from my shoulders until Friday, it is completely erased, and I am ready to start my break with fervor!

Example: My finals week this semester.

Tuesday:
...nothing.

Wednesday:
5:30 - Conducting Final

Thursday:
8:00: Methods Piano Jury
12:00: Flute Jury
?: Piano Jury
2:58: Performance for a Composition Major's Jury

Friday:
10:30-12:30: Music History Final
1-3: Stewardship and Civic Engagement Final

Thursday's a little rough. My point is, however, this is simple compared to how the rest of the semester went.

The week before finals week, however, is another story.

Students across campus bear witness to this stressful phenomenon.

Imagine this nightmarish scenario...

Take all of your final papers your professors mention at the beginning of the semester...all of those big final projects that count for 50% of your grade...that presentation which seemed so far away when your professor first started talking about it...

Take them all...and make them due within one five-day span.

Add the common tendency to procrastinate on such projects into the mix.

Imagine spending hours upon hours in the library, struggling to complete these assignments.

Well. In college, you don't have to imagine. That nightmare becomes your life during the week of finals week. Some would go as far to say your life is a living hell, thus the origin of the affectionate term.

I speak dramatically on the subject, but it really is a difficult experience to go through...and in a four year undergraduate degree, you have to experience it eight times.

On the plus side, you learn a great deal about yourself. What you can accomplish within a week's time...and what you can't. How far in the day can you get without breaking to buy an espresso at Starbucks.

Though other students might hang me for it, I would say it's a character building experience. Since I'm a bit of a workaholic, I almost enjoy the challenge.

And, well, goodness. I haven't heard of anyone die from a case of hell week stress, persay. Everyone I know has made it out alive. Every single semester.

...

*knocks on wood*

Tips to Survive Hell Week
1. Make a plan.
Before the week begins, figure out what assignments are due each day. Mark it in a planner, use your whiteboard (I use both). Figure out the time you need to complete each task. It may seem crazy, but this may even involve making an hour by hour plan for yourself each day. You know what they say: if you fail to plan, plan to fail.

2. Be proactive.
You're going to find it easy to procrastinate. Don't give into the temptation. Work through it. Imagine how good you will feel when the task is done. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be finished.


3. Practice in the morning.
 Practice time as well as practice rooms become scarce during hell week. If your music school is anything like mine, practice rooms are usually filled during the last two weeks of the semester because of juries and other final performances. If you find yourself having trouble finding a practice room, wake up early so you can be in a practice room at least an hour before classes officially start (7 AM at most universities). That way, you can focus on your homework at night guilt-free!
I know what you're thinking. "Why would anyone ever get up that early willingly?"
Well. Have you ever seen practice rooms filled at 7 AM?

4. Use self control regarding social networking sites.
 Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ can become a real time-sucker for the internet reliant. These sites are not your friend during finals week. Find a friend to take control of your password for the week. Or, even more conveniently, if you have a Mac, download the Self Control app here. This app will allow you disable certain websites on your computer for up to a day at a time. I swear by it.

 5. Take care of yourself. 
 Don't skip a meal. Get as much sleep as possible; avoid all-nighters at all costs (though it's sometimes easier said than done). Don't skip showers. If you sacrifice yourself for your school work, you will find that your performance in your various subjects and activities will also be sacrificed.


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Until next time! Best of luck in your finals week!

About this Blog

"Life is short."

Chances are, if you've had contact with a human being in your life, you've heard this quote.

I can certainly see the merits. Carpe diem! Seize the day! Don't waste your life away thinking, "What if?" Do something!

However, I feel as though people take this mantra and take it to excess. Instead of doing "something," as in something meaningful, they do anything.

So I'd like to bring up another point.

While life is short, life is also long.

In fact, living is the longest thing we've ever done successively at this point in time.

So while I love adventure and living in the moment, I also believe in keeping the future in mind and having goals.

So how do we balance between the two? How do we do it right? The obvious answer is trial and error of course. We've been doing it all our lives, since we were babies. The square peg doesn't go in the round hole? Okay, let's try a different peg.

But as we grow older, our puzzles get a bit more difficult. What do I want to do with my life? I love my significant other, but is he or she the person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with? How can I make my mark on this world?

These puzzles can be solved through trial and error as well. But you have so many options, and certainly not enough time to try out everything to find out what works and what doesn't.

Because of this, humans have developed an immaculate skill of observation. Since we don't have time to make all the mistakes ourselves, we learn from others mistakes to supplement our own.

We can learn from our friends' mistakes. Our parents mistakes. Our brothers' and sisters' mistakes.

We can even learn from strangers' mistakes, who generously tell their tales in the hope of helping someone else. We of the virtual call these people life hackers.

Life hackers may not have all of life figured out, but they have certain aspects down to a science. An example of such expertise can be found in Marc and Angel. You can check out their site for yourself
here.

I personally am not even close to having life figured out. I'm still in college...I'm constantly learning new things about the world and about myself as well.


So here's where the title of the blog comes into play.

Lessons from a Music Major

As the title implies, I am currently pursuing an undergraduate music degree. As an upperclassman close to finishing this degree, I have gone through the ups and downs of trying to make my way through the music world, and I'm sure I have many, many more roller coaster rides to go.

A lot of things I have learned through the knowledge of some more experienced friends and professors. I also learned a great deal through having a wonderful music program in high school.

But it makes me wonder what students do that aren't so lucky. If I think I have it hard, what about the person with a passion for music and no experience whatsoever in the music world?

There is no set guideline to music professionalism or etiquette. There is no set path to success in music. If you Google such a thing (as I have in moments of desperation), you'll get about 400,000 results that don't give assistance...for less than $19.99 plus shipping and handling, anyway.

So I thought it might be neat to try to hack the musician's life.

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That's the idea of this blog in a nutshell.