Is that the smell of freshly baked gingerbread? And evergreen trees? And a hint of peppermint?
Christmas is in the air! However, for those immersed in high school and the stressful lives of
teens, a different scent is in the air: Finals.

Perhaps the idea of sitting at that desk, taking out the sharpest #2 pencil, and scrambling to fill in
all of the bubbles is worse than actually performing these tasks. But until that moment when the
test is placed on that desk, finals loom over every bit of a student’s life.

According to Skylar Foster ‘27, she has been scrambling all week to prepare. “I have been
studying for my history final, and have been studying papers for my math final and for my choir final.
I just hope I lock in tomorrow morning.” “Tomorrow morning” means her choir final, where she
will be quizzed intensely on sight reading and rhythm reading. She says all of this with an
imaginary bead of sweat rolling down her forehead, and the look on her face matches the
cheerful stress bubbling inside her. And she is not alone in feeling all of these classic high
school feelings when it comes to a student’s future and the test scores that could make or break
that.

Another student, Lucas Riccio ‘28, shares advice for those preparing to succeed at finals and
also gives his own personal tips he himself uses. “I finish all the
homework and pray to god that I do well. The best way to prepare for finals is to not prepare
for finals, you are overthinking!” And Riccio is completely right in that students often overthink or
underestimate their capabilities. This is the best piece of advice for all CdM High School
students. Do not overthink anything, and don’t underestimate natural capabilities. And a personal
note from those of us at Trident Magazine: You got this, Seakings! We believe in you. Happy
Finals week!