The semester may feel like it has just begun, but we Golden Bears know that midterms are always lurking. They’re like the booming bell of the Campanile, silent and serene at first, but once the clock strikes noon, everything erupts. The semester starts out calm, and then all at once, a million different tasks arise. You start pulling your hair out and wincing at the sound of pencils hitting blue books. Midterms have begun, and we have all morphed into hyper-caffeinated versions of ourselves. But before the tests consume our every waking moment, we must remember that we are still Golden Bears. We can “due” this. Here’s how.
Break out your blue and gold
This one is for my fellow Golden Bears who have a visual, design-driven eye: When sitting down to study, make sure to ornament your pages with flourishes of classic UC Berkeley blue and gold. This can manifest in the use of yellow and blue highlighters, Post-it notes or even colored pencils. This is a cute and fun way to make your work more colorful, and of course, less monotonous. No matter how many terms you’ve memorized, it will fill you with unspoken Golden Bear energy to see those two colors waltzing with each other down each page. Bonus tip: Use a light blue highlighter to emphasize the notes, instead of UC Berkeley’s signature navy. You won’t be able to study effectively if your highlighter obscures the most important information!
Study for aesthetics
Every moment I’ve been a Golden Bear, I’ve come to one conclusion: aesthetics matter. I am mostly joking, but it is much more pleasant to study under the verdure of the Northside trees than it is to be facing the cinderblocks of Evans Hall. Here’s an aesthetically pleasing tip: In between grind sessions, while trying to get that last term in before your brain gives up, make sure to “performatively study.” This entails wearing headphones that require a 15-minute wire-untangling session while opening your (blue and yellow) color-coded cursive notes. Then, you must sip from your $8 iced matcha from Caffè Strada. Consider going into the North Reading Room at Doe Library and just people-watch. If you want to feel like studying without really studying, just watch people study! But be aware of your obtrusive curiosity; consider striking up conversation with nearby locked-in classmates. If you want to marvel at the imposing facade of our impressive main reading hall, make sure to post a picture captioned: “dat library Doe.”
Wear merch to your midterm
The morning of a midterm might be bleak. It may entail a sloppy, yet efficient, breakfast, a speed walk to your testing room and nail-biting stress. This stress, in all of its glory, may obscure the fact that we still go to the No. 1 public university in the country. But, in case your classmates haven’t realized yet, you go here. If you want to stand out from other Golden Bears taking the same midterm as you, be extravagant: Remind them, with a dazzling blue and gold number, that you’re not just here to succeed. You’re here to stun. Now, the classroom is your stage instead of your chopping block. If you feel insecure about your midterm, at least you went down in style. You’re always a winner when you sport school spirit.
Listen, Golden Bears: walk into your midterm with your matcha, your UC Berkeley merch outfit and your best blue and gold writing utensil. If you fail, you can still remember that you’re here to stay and you’re here to blow your midterm away.