Everyone is feeling a LITTLE stressed out right now. Finals Week is definitely not the best time of the year, but we all still must face the horror of a 7:30 a.m. final sometime in our years at Iowa State.

There are several ways to lessen the burden of a looming final in the class that comes from the depths of the earth.

First, and most obviously, take a study break to water down the pressure — or maybe even cure it.

Yeah, it is cold outside and you are getting tired of bundling up to go outside, but having Finals Week before the holiday season can be an advantage. Want to alleviate those finals blues? Jump in your car and drive around town to look at the holiday lights. If you don’t have a car, jump on Cy-Ride and ride all around town until you’ve seen every Santa, reindeer and snowman.

There’s one house on the north side of town that looks as if it’s out of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. You’ll be reminded of when you were a kid and helped put the lights on the house or the tree. Oh, the memories…

Decorate your room with lights. There’s nothing like a rainbow of colors to create a mood. Deck your entire house, apartment or dorm room with festive decorations. Get an itsy bitsy Christmas tree and put a star on top of it but don’t forget the all-important mistletoe. Unless you are a Scrooge or Grinch, the decor will make you feel giddy.

If you’ve been trying to study for several hours, but you’re looking at your watch every half hour when you wake up from dozing off, take a walk or go for a bike ride. It may be a little cold outside, but it will wake you up.

The fact that there’s no snow on the ground to make snow angels or have a snowball fight is a sad thing, but keep that in mind for the rest of the winter. (There’s nothing like stepping into a knee-high snow drift when you get off Cy-Ride.)

These are just several of the many study breaks you can take to alleviate the pressure of Finals Week. Unfortunately, study breaks can turn into avoiding studying altogether, but just remember that you had good intentions to ONLY take a break.

Also remember that finals will be completely over within five days. When they are over, you can sit back, relax, make these study breaks into study avoidances, have a beverage (perhaps a little egg nog for the holidays) and SMILE. You don’t have to study again for another month.