After I finished reviewing for my last Pop, Rock and Soul Music quiz of the semester, I sat back, thinking about what finals week would bring for me and my peers and how we would all get through it. The main goals of finals week are, of course, as follows: finding a hidey-hole in which to study, finding sustenance and acing (or getting close to acing) those finals!

How do you succeed? By following these simple steps!

1. Quiet! Finding a quiet spot is more or less a logical decision. You COULD just stay holed up in your dorm room. But then again, it gets cramped and confined there. If you’re looking for a roomier place, try your dorm’s study lounge! It’s quite spacious and there’s a bathroom with showers not too far away. Or if the dorm is too stuffy for you, venture over to the library. I’m sure that there’s plenty of space there to camp out (the third floor is pretty nice) and finish all of your studying, despite the unfortunate lack of nearby showers. I’m sure you could find a way, though — you are a college student, after all.

2. Food! The simplest thing to do would be to stock up on food from the dining halls, clearing your meal plan for the semester. While that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do in case you run out of money for next semester, it’s convenient and cheap compared to bringing back troves of goodies from Wal-Mart. And while you complain about the quality of the food, I present you with this ray of hope: You’ve dealt with the dining hall food for most, if not all, of the semester. It’s just another few days. You can deal with it. If you do want to go on a spending spree and you have the time and funds, there is always the Wal-Mart run. Enjoy.

3. Studying! It’s all quite simple, really. If you’ve been taking good, organized notes, things should be fine! If you haven’t, a few days of cramming will set you straight. Of course, note cards always help for memorizing terms and definitions. If you review the notes, the note cards, prior test material and the required textbook chapters, things should be A-OK. But if you’re scrambling to find notes at the last minute, I’d suggest asking a friend who previously took the course. Or a friend in the course. Or a class study buddy, if you have one. Don’t knock it — study buddies can be helpful. And don’t overdo it on the studying; a five to 10-minute break every half hour to hour should refresh and relax your brain.

So, what am I saying? As long as you have a nice, quiet place to study your voluminous texts and notes, and enough food to get you through, you should be fine for finals. Don’t panic. Things will be fine. Just think happy, peaceful thoughts.

As Tyler Durden once said, be “calm as Hindu cows.”