study

February 2020

Admittedly, I was not very good at keeping track of numbers before I came to Columbia, but I got better at it quickly. As much as I would love to credit my improvement to my one (1) Introduction to Statistical Reasoning course, it was Columbia’s student contribution and the Federal Work-Study Grant calculations that really made me work for it. The question I had to answer was “How does a senior at Columbia live on $240 a year?”

Working my regular shift as a Residence Hall Student Aid, I caught up on my History of the modern Middle East reading about political Islam. Between sentences, I looked at the entrance to see who was entering and exiting the building. Two girls entered the residence hall, and one asked me to sign the other into the building.

Though Butler and Milstein may be some of the most familiar of Columbia and Barnard’s libraries and study spots, they also tend to be among the most packed during finals season. Instead of going through the familiar struggle of trying to find a seat, get off the beaten path by trying out these hidden (and not-so-hidden) gems, courtesy of Spectrum.

My whole life, I have struggled to keep a diary. It seemed too scary of an idea, to have all my vulnerabilities projected into cursive on a lined sheet of paper. When I was younger, I wasn’t able to do the work of being honest that having a diary requires, not even to myself out of fear that I wouldn’t like what I saw. But now that I have the self-esteem and self-awareness, I love writing in my diary and I love it even more when I can read what I have written and feel warmth. I can see the progression of a story where I am the protagonist of something, even if it is my own diary. Now, my diary has taped-in pictures, screenshots from text messages, and lines of my own handwriting documenting my life as I see it, a progression toward all the unknown lines that have yet to be filled in with tears and laughter and change and returns.

I credit my life as truly having begun the night that I read the last scene of García Márquez’s “Cien Años de Soledad.” It was on that night, for the first time, I felt an overwhelming urgency to be a part of the world outside of what I knew. I was born into a family that had lived in the same region of rural Georgia since the colonial period—and in that time, we had seen our lands transformed, just like the family from the novel. As I read the ending, taking in the destruction of all the rich history of the town of Macondo, I knew that I didn’t want my life to only be settled in rural Georgia. I was determined to be one of the characters that left right before their small town’s eventual fade from human memory—because in the book, as soon as the town learned its purpose, it was magically destroyed.

With finals quickly approaching, most of us are already stressing about the amount of studying and exams we have coming up. However, as human beings, we’re bound to need a break during finals season, even if just for an hour or two each day. To help you think of some easy, fun, and relaxing things to do to get away from the stressful atmosphere that is ever-present on campus during finals seasons, here are eight study break ideas.

As final exams and paper due dates draw nearer, and consequently, as the hours in Butler and trips to Blue Java pile up, mental health and self-care are ever more important. Though we at Spectrum acknowledge that it’s especially difficult to take some time for yourself at an institution with an infamous stress culture, see if you can forgo the 11th hour of studying this finals season to instead try some of our self-care suggestions.

It’s hard to get out of the lazy cycle of going to Butler every day. Even though you slightly hate it, at least it has always been there for you. As you may be realizing now, it can also become increasingly stuffy and draining to study in the same library every day—especially Butler. During midterms and finals season, it’s especially annoying to try to find a seat. So why don’t you try to discover a new library? Who knows, you may just end up finding your new favorite study spot!

The weather is finally getting better, Low Beach is popping, and the fertilizer smells terrible. Midterms just ended, but it feels like we had a millisecond of a break to enjoy the sun before the dread starts to build again. Yes, it’s that time of the semester again. The terrible f-word that everyone loves to hate: finals. But fear not. Spectrum is here to alleviate the pain of finals season with five tips to stay afloat during the next few weeks.