Finals: Start thinking about them now!

Even though we may be barely through midterms, finals are going to sneak up on you before you know it. Start planning ahead now to do your best and make it through finals week sane.

1. Mark your calender. It's a good idea to have a calender with everything you have due anyways, but finals week is especially important. You need to know now if any of your finals are going to overlap, it can happen. And if you have two final papers due the same day, you're probably not going to be able to write both of them the night before. (Another good thing to note, is when you are going home. Chances of getting any work done once you are home are very low.)
   
2. Meet with your professor. For many classes professors provide review sessions and reviews for the test. But equally as often, they don't. If they don't you need to find out what information you're expected to know, and the best way to do that is meet one-on-one with your professor or send them an email. They'll appreciate you're forethought and help you do the best you can on your final.
3. Get the best environment possible. Do you have special needs as a student? Maybe you need more time or have a hard time reading the test. If you need accommodations, there are a couple places you can try. The Academic Support Center and the Disabilities Support Center. Both have friendly staff that are willing to help you any way you can, you're professors are also very accommodating.
4. Start studying now. Even if it's just marking up sections, or reviewing information from the beginning of the semester, starting now make it easier to do better later.

Those are some tips to making sure you do the best you can, the first semester of finals is always the toughest. If you can manage to get through these without too much trouble, you'll find that it'll get easier and easier every tear.

Fun in DC: U Street

One of the best parts of DC is there is something for everyone, each neighborhood has it's own personality and something you can't find anywhere else in the city. One of my favorite areas of the city is U Street. There are great concert venues, fun places to eat, and many places that are must sees before you graduate.

What should be at the top of your list is Ben's Chili Bowl. A place renowned for not only it's

chili, but it's famous patrons. If you visit the diner you can see photos covering the walls of people who came before you. A frequent visitor is Bill Cosby, who for the longest time was the only person who ate free. The Obama's have been added since their move to DC.

Busboys and Poets is another venue worth stopping by. They frequently have interesting performers: slam poetry, go-go, anything you can imagine! The food is some of the best in town, and the environment is unbeatable.

Their are several musical venues, another is the Black Cat which attracts musicians from across the country. Once a hub for jazz, the Black Cat has changed with the neighborhood around it and hosts a variety of genres and artists. More recently The Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Tegan and Sarah, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have performed at the Black Cat.

A couple of my personal favorites on U street are Twins Jazz and Tabaq Bistro. Twins has great jam sessions on Friday nights and good cheesecake to go along with, it's a great environment and it's very cozy and intimate. Tabaq Bistro is absolutely delicious Turkish-inspired food, and one of the best views in the city. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth making the trip at least once while you are here.

Healthy Living: Keeping Your Sanity

Right now we're getting into midterm season, and often times this is when your freshman year starts to catch up with you. The weather is changing so your health is suffering, you haven't done as much work as you should have so you're having to pull more all-nighters, and you and your room mate are intimately familiar and constantly reminded of what bothers you about each other.

Some of the problems you're running into can easily be solved, others are going to take some work or you're going to have to chalk it up as a learning experience. Here are a few tips that'll help you get through this hectic time.

1. Use an agenda.
   Whether it's a note book where you can jot important dates and assignments down in or an electronic calender, use it. It'll save you a lot of stress and help you budget your time.
   
   
2. Talk to your roomate. The two of you will be going through some of the same problems, and have similar needs of your environment. Make sure you have guidelines for the room laid out. Be specific about what you, and understanding about what your room mate needs.
3. If you need help, get it! The sooner you recognize you need help, the sooner you can get help, the better off you are. If you have trouble with your room mate, talk to your RA. If you're having trouble in a class, talk to your professor or TA. And if your having any kind of trouble and want to talk to someone about it, check out the Counseling Center.
4. Take care of your health. Your health is the most important thing you have, and you have to take care of it. Try to eat healthy and get as much sleep as you can, go easy on going out, allow your body time to recuperate. Avoid sick people and use hand sanitizer! Getting sick will just make this time harder.
   

There are some great resources available on campus. If you need someone to talk to, there's someone who wants to talk to you. If you need someone to help you with a class, there is someone who cares. If you need a place to study, there are places to study.

What do you do when you need some peace and quiet? Who do you go to for help at AU?