As the spring semester winds down, students are preparing for one of the most demanding times of the year — finals week. Long nights, heavy workloads, and mounting pressure are all part of the experience.
But for three students, those familiar stresses became something more. In recognition of National Poetry Month, they turned to verse to capture the reality of finals.
Lamar University’s Yelena Deloney, Port Neches senior, wrote a piece that highlights the chaotic and often ironic nature of trying to study in a world full of distractions:
My notes are messy, my brain’s
in a swirl,
I do not even know half of the things
in this world.
My tabs stay open,
like twenty or more,
but somehow, I am shopping
for things I cannot afford.
Delony’s words reflect a familiar struggle for many students: the constant battle between focus and distraction:
Some answers I know, some
I just guess,
but I do it with confidence,
honestly, yes.”
That mix of anxiety and self-assurance captures the spirit of students doing their best with what they have.
LU’s Laila Diaz, Groves junior, takes a more conversational and candid approach, emphasizing both exhaustion and anticipation for the semester’s end:
Finally, the semester is coming
to an end…
Finals really are not a blast
I would be shocked if I even passed.
Her poem balances humor with honesty, touching on the universal reliance on caffeine and late-night study sessions:
All I am running on is sleep
and caffeine
Last minute homework and
studying at 3 a.m.
Send help, or snacks, or even
both of them.
Diaz captures the shared experience of students pushing through fatigue while counting down the days until summer break.
Nathan Letran, a student at A&M university, offers a more reflective and poetic perspective, focusing on the emotional weight of finals week:
Time bends into caffeine and clocks,
pages blur like whispered prayers
I hope I studied enough.
His imagery slows the moment down, highlighting the quiet pressure that builds during late-night study sessions:
Yet somewhere in the margins
of all this stress and scribbled ink,
there’s proof I showed up,
and that must count for something.
Letran’s closing lines provide a powerful reminder that effort itself holds value, even in moments of doubt.
Together, these three poems paint a vivid picture of finals week across different campuses. From humor and chaos to reflection and resilience, their words reveal that while every student experiences stress differently, they are united by a shared journey.