All Night Long (Not the Lionel Richie Song)

I don't know if this has occurred to anyone yet, but today is the last day of March! AHHH! The break is so close -- I can taste it!  I can't believe this is my last post! Logically then, I've decided to write a post celebrating everything I got to do this year. First, let me take a moment to thank everyone who helped to make my year spectacular! No guys, I'm just kidding. You guys are all stuck with me until the exam season ends! *** Keeping in the spirit of March, I'm going to tackle a topic that we have all experienced. Lionel Richie calls it a fiesta, but I call it an all-nighter.  TRIGGER WARNING: this post may hit too close to home, and bring back some awful memories about the coffee coma you experienced writing that PHL100 paper about Descartes. I think, therefore I cram. All-nighters. To be perfectly honest, I have only done one proper (paper) all-nighter since my first year. I don't have to do them because I'm always up-to-date with my assignments and tests. Not because I'm almost 21 years old, and can't actually be functional after 10PM without the risk of breaking a hip. I pinky promise that it's not the latter.

Anyways, let's get the pleasantries over before I give you some helpful ~*~*tips*~*~ All-nighters should be your absolute last choice. There are a considerable amount of negative consequences associated with it. So, before deciding to pull one, make sure you've attempted to at least ask for an extension. You will do objectively better if you're not attempting academia around the same time they play re-runs of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. But sometimes that's just unavoidable. So here are a few things I do to make the best out of this sad, sad situation. 

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFOREHAND: Oh my god, I can't stress this enough. It's tiring enough having to write an entire paper in one night, but having to spend time looking for resources before actually starting the paper. You'll be more stressed than Zayn (formerly of One Direction).
2. SET YOUR ALARM(S): Every hour. On the hour. You never know when you'll accidentally pass out. Who's going to be there to wake you up? No one! This is the real word. Never let your guard down.
3. BRING PROTEIN, FRUITS, AND GUM: Consistently snacking on natural sugars and nuts keeps you energized without the terrible crash of caffeine. Chew gum to keep your mind off sleeping, and to quell those nasty thoughts telling you that a B on this paper is not possible at this point. Chew on, soldier.
4. CAFFEINE: Who am I kidding? Of course you'll need coffee at some point. All-nighters and coffee go together like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Try your best not to drink caffeine unless you're absolutely sure that you've reached your limit. Try to take it slow. SIPS. If you want to take a short 20-minute nap, have some coffee beforehand. It works WONDERS.
5. BREATHE: Your number one priority should be self-care. If you mentally can't finish this paper in one night - don't. Nothing is worth risking your mental health. Take the penalty, and you'll feel so much better for it. You'll probably still get a higher mark working on a paper when there are other humans actually awake.

Remember that you'll survive. This is only one night. Uno. Stay gold, UofT. Stay gold. - Ondiek