drowning in the multitude

Finals are quickly approaching.... Tuesday marks the first day of the ever questionable marathon of running toward winter break and the multitude of obstacles that ostentatiously call themselves finals. To be honest I don't really mind finals all that much. They're just like the tests we've been taking throughout the entire semester. What I don't like about them are that they're worth 10% of your whole grade. Also, what they don't tell you about finals is that they don't actually help your grade. Most of what they do is drag it down to the mud for it to feast on the wet and grainy soil like an earthworm with a very empty stomach. It is true, finals can potentially raise your grade. What teachers don't add on to that misleading and deceitful fact is that it can only potentially raise your grade a few percentage points. Ok, I have an 85% in a class and I'm hoping and praying for an A. All I really need is a measly 4.5% to get that A- that my soul so desperately searches for in the depths of whatever academic class that grade would be for. Teachers spouting out that finals can (note can, not that they will) raise your grade sprouts a quite hope in my thumping heart. I could do it! I could really make an A in this class! Quickly, I grab a calculator to figure what kind of grade I need to get on the last obstacle I have to leap for that glorious A-. I press the enter button and the blistery cold, hard truth freezes what little hope I had cultivated in my now sunken heart. In order to raise my grade those bothersome 4.5 percentage points I have to get a 130% on the final. Even if I studied and drilled every little minuscule spec of information that I can lay my twitching hands on, with a maximum of 100% on the final, that 130% becomes as attainable as the holy grail. Oh, yeah, finals can really raise my grade. More often than not the final exam consists of a series of questions that give a false sense of security as they lay before you on the desk, but then once the teacher grades the pages of supposed victory your heart skips a beat, and your breath catches as you see the narrow escape you just made to keep the grade you've had all semester. Nope, I truly don't mind finals at all. >.<