Many may believe this to be an impossible task, but it is possible to remain sane through finals. As a person with a high stress level, I have discovered it is almost addictive to stay busy. 

Living the traditional college student life, jumping from one activity to the next, from one paper assignment to the next, and from one party to the next, I go into withdrawal when I'm not busy. Yet, finals' week is the compilation of a semester of stretching yourself thin and cramming all that stress into one week of an insane amount of testing. 

A few helpful tips to keep your mind intact through this cruel Chinese torture include:

1. Yoga
2. Exercise
3. Personal time
4. Pistol and bullet, aka sleep
5. Most important: no matter what happens, it all will end!

Taking out your mental frustration on your inability to do calculus through physical exertion can help to rejuvenate your mind.

Another technique is to make time in your schedule for you. No matter how little the time slot is, it is important to balance everyone else's demands with your own. 

In addition, you should rest your body. If you think running on a few hours or no sleep is healthy, then you are incorrect.

Obviously we all believe the more study sessions we can squeeze in, the better we will do on the exam. This is false. At some point during your studying, you have to learn to throw in the towel. Not to undermine the importance of struggling, you have to study to succeed. However, you will not do well on your exam if your mental faculties are exhausted. 

The most important thing to remember about finals' week: It's all over on May 6. No matter how it goes or what happens, light exists at the end of the tunnel and the light is the first Tuesday in May. 

I feel like a little bit of a hypocrite because I stress over the massive amount of writing I have to do by the end of this week, but I write an article about de-stressing. The irony is a little bitter. 

I'll have to try to keep in mind my own advice as I jump into finals, and as you cram for the double exams on one day and rush to pack and leave, remember: For better or worse, summer is just around the corner.    

If all else fails, the UT counseling center is located at 900 Volunteer Blvd. They are opened from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with walk-ins welcome from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3:30. You can make call for an appointment at 865-974-2196.