This year finals took place before winter break with the new school schedule put in place.  Rather than taking final exams about two weeks after winter vacation, we completed finals before the break began. This is the first time in my high school career that this has been the case. While no one really enjoyed starting school quite so early in August, having finals before vacation had both advantages and disadvantages.

There were two big things that I found to be annoying when it came to the new schedule. The first is the amount of homework I had over Thanksgiving. Teachers who usually assigned projects or larger assignments over winter break needed a long weekend to assign these projects. Since we didn’t have winter vacation or any other long weekend because of the tight schedule, these projects had to be done over Thanksgiving break. However, this was the first year with the new schedule and I hope that teachers will adjust their schedules to avoid assigning these projects over Thanksgiving break for next year.

I have had finals after winter break for three years of my high school career so this experience was very different. I felt like finals crept up on me this semester.  Usually Thanksgiving is a wake up call that the semester is coming to a close which means it’s time to bring grades up.  Winter break was then a reminder that final exams would be quickly approaching.  This year, however, when Thanksgiving came, I felt like I had no time to bring up my grades.  There were only two weeks left before final exams.  As finals approached, it never really sunk in that it was time to start studying.  Teachers taught new material until the last possible moment so I found myself cramming for all of my exams the night before.  This may not have been the case for other students, such as the freshmen, who never took final exams before winter vacation.

Although finals were extremely stressful, as they always are, winter vacation was super relaxing.  After I finished my last final, I just sat.  I had nothing to do, no place to go, and it felt amazing. I was able to do whatever I pleased without worrying about any school work. While I will admit I never really studied over winter vacation in past years, I had the knowledge that final exams were coming lingering over my head. There was always some uneasiness knowing that I should be studying and that when I got back to school I would be taking exams. This year, I watched television without a care in the world.  My friends felt the same way.  They were able to go away on vacation and actually enjoy themselves. I did have one book I had to read over break, but, compared to the amount of assignments I had in past years, it was nothing.

While it may seem that I have brought up more potential disadvantages than advantages, I think having finals before winter vacation was a good idea.  When I reflect on how finals went, I just keep remembering how relaxed I felt over winter break, and for me that opportunity to relax outweighs everything.