Exam Survival Guide

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The clock is counting down as the semester is coming to a much anticipated, much needed end. Projects and papers are due and final exams are looming around the corner. We've come up with the Exam Survival Guide to help you make it through the worst two weeks of the semester, the last two.

Step 1: Take care of your body.
We've all heard the slogan on the above poster, and it becomes our mentality when working on a deadline, but remember that you'll be dead quicker if you don't take care of your body. Get plenty of rest! Take mid-day naps if you need to, but rest is a vital part of proper brain function. It is also what turns short term memory into long term memory. And when you wake up, get something to eat, something healthy. Your car needs gas to run, right? Guess what, your body also needs fuel to maintain strength. And an empty stomach can be really distracting.
Step 2: Plan.
Set up a plan for how, where, and how long you're going to study. You'll be more likely to actually study if you plan it out and set aside time solely for exam preparation. Then stick to that plan. Also if you spread it out and take study breaks, then your brain won't be on information-overload and you will be more likely to remember what you've studied.
Step 3: Study!
Start studying NOW! That's right, don't wait until the night before the exam to study. Get a head start and look over the material now so that it will be easier to remember later. Even if it's just 5 minutes at a time, do what you can. Switch out between subjects if you get tired of one, then come back to it later.

Tools:

• A loud, working alarm clock. And don't hit snooze. If you sleep through your finals, all that studying will be for nothing!
• Coffee, coffee, and more coffee. You can substitute for hot tea, but make sure it is caffeinated.
• A water bottle: To keep you hydrated. Caffeine is wonderful, but it can dehydrate you. Your body is mostly water, and you can get headaches, backaches and more if you don't drink enough water.
• A pillow. If you're going to be burning long hours in the computer lab or library, you may as well get comfortable.
• Snacks. Pick up a couple of your favorites to munch on. We suggest mini carrots and grapes. They are healthy, bite sized and will help you stay awake.
• Index Cards. They can be helpful when studying to write down cues and use them as flash cards.
• A #2 pencil. Why? Why does Indiana Jones always carry a whip? Why does James Bond always have a gun? Why does House always carry his cane? Because you just never know. 
• A deck of cards. Solitaire or other card games can be really good for quick study breaks to help your mind relax.

Have suggestions for the Exam Survival Guide? Leave a comment and let us know how it can be improved. Also let us know what your favorite study snack is!

Read the fall issue of Venture Magazine for tips on how to stay healthy and set good habits in college.

Thanksgiving, followed by Pushing and Shoving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the scene in most homes will be very similar. Families will gather round the table for a feast of delicious foods like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, carrots and my favorite, green bean casserole, followed by yummy desserts like pumpkin or blueberry pie. Each person will say something for which they are thankful. The evening will be spent in high spirits, whether it be playing games, watching football or just hanging out with family. But it is after the day is done and the leftovers stored away, that the mischief begins.
People will betray the contentment they so readily swore mere hours ago. Shopping malls and retail outlets will be crowded with people lurking at the doors so they can be the first to get those items that their families, who were satisfied earlier that day, suddenly can't live without, such as a new video game or that bigger, better television. And when the doors finally open, they will push, shove and trample one another like ravenous animals.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with people wanting to buy loved ones nice things, however, it does not give them a right to abandon common courtesy and civility. Most importantly, it does not portray the love of God. So, if you choose to join the crowds and wait for stores to open so you can get the good deals, remember to have fun and treat others with kindness. After all, people are far more important than stuff.

Giving Thanks

Celebrate Thanksgiving and remember all the things you're thankful for by making a Thanksgiving Tree! It's also a great way to bring fall indoors and decorate your dorm or appartment for the season. It's fun to make, especially while sipping on a yummy Pumpkin Spice Latte.

1. Get a branch from outside that will fit in a vase or glass. (We used a glass milk bottle.)
2. Cut out Maple leaves from red, yellow, and orange construction paper. (Or you can buy autumn leaves from A.C. Moore for $5.50)
3. Hole punch each leaf and tie a string (preferably brown string) through it to make it an ornament.
4. Write one thing you are thankful for on each leaf. (Skip to my Lou suggests writing one nice thing you've done on the back of the leaf.)
5. Hang the leaves on the branch and voila!

Highs and Lows

I received a 93 on my last English paper, which I was pretty proud about until our test grade was posted. College life is full of highs and lows like that. If you aren't careful, one bad grade or one wrong decision can leave you feeling terrible and make you forget all of the right choices you've made or good things that you've done. Today, we've provided an excerpt from L.B. Cowman’s devotional book “Streams in the Desert.” In this book, Cowman presents a different Bible verse each day along with an application of the verse in our lives today. In the devotion below, Cowman talks about not letting failure overshadow successes—something that’s easy to do in college.

Fresh Touch with God

"And the ill favored and lean-fleshed [cows] did Eat up the seven well favored and fat [cows]…and the thin, [heads of grain] swallowed up the seven rank and full [heads of grain]" (Gen. 41:4, 7).

There is a warning for us in that dream, just as it stands: It is possible for the best years of our life, the best experiences, the best victories won, the best service rendered, to be swallowed up by times of failure, defeat, dishonor, uselessness in the kingdom. Some men's lives of rare promise and rare achievement have ended so. It is awful to think of, but it is true. Yet it is never necessary.

 S. D. Gordon has said that the only assurance of safety against this tragedy is "fresh touch with God," daily, hourly. The blessed, fruitful, victorious experiences of yesterday are not only of no value to me today, but they will actually be eaten up or reversed by today's failures, unless they serve as incentives to still better, richer experiences today.

 "Fresh touch with God," by abiding in Christ, alone will keep the lean kine and the ill favored grain out of my life.  --Messages for the Morning Watch

Taken from the devotional book “Streams in the Desert” by L.B. Cowman.