How To Survive: St. Patrick's Day and Finals

Your Irish eyes are beginning to smile. You’re happily anticipating the most celebrated ethnically-related reason to party this year before Cinco de Mayo.

But if you look closely at all those Irish eyes at Cal Poly, you can see a sad little glimmer of disappointment because SLOPD might as well have told us the Mardi Gras party’s STILL over. That’s right, St.
Patrick’s Day falls on the weekend right before finals week.

Personally, I only have a little bit of Irish in me and I can’t legally drink yet, but I recently visited Ireland and sampled many of the country’s fine alcoholic beverages (Sadly, I’m not a Guinness fan.
Please don’t kill me). It’s easy to see why party people everywhere follow and adore the Irish drinking spirit.

Ah, but finals. It’d be naive of me to assume that no one is going to go out and party. Tests don’t stop many from having a good time.

So, I’m sure I don’t have to say anything more about how you should really be studying. Really, you should.

But I know you’ll go stir-crazy if you just stay in all weekend; I know I would anyways.

First, there’s the obvious. Don’t waste your time. Even if you have your first final on Thursday, you should know by now that it’s just not a good idea.

Now with that out of the way, don’t get drunk. I suppose that is the antithesis of what St. Paddy’s Day has come to be in America, but it’s just not a good
idea.

Why? Because if you get drunk enough, you’re going to have a hangover. Now what could be worse for studying than that? (Other than the accidental loss of all the
notes you need for the final). The headaches and everything are just not a good way to spend the final weekend of the quarter, unless you’re used to spending your study time in alcohol-induced hazes.
Well, it’s your G.P.A., don’t look at me when you’re crying cockles and mussles in Dublin’s fair city a la the famous Molly Malone (Dublin’s fair city isn’t
cheap guys, not the best place for a
less-than-minimum-wage job. Oh, and Malone most likely died of an STD. She supposedly sold her body on the side. But hey, you’ll get a statue right in the middle of Dublin’s busiest intersection).

There are responsible ways to still go out, do a bit of partying and drink a bit of Guinness. But that’s it, you have to do things in moderation. Don’t stay out
all night because then you won’t be able to study all the next day.

Instead, go out, have a drink or two, come home, get some sleep and keep on plowing through those notes.

If you can’t drink yet, go out to dinner or to a club with friends. The point is to go out and have fun, and yes you can do it without booze. I plan on going to dinner with a large group of some of my closest
friends. That way, I’ll have all day to study and something to look forward to. Another close friend is planning on organizing a dinner party as a treat for
studying so hard all weekend.

And, of course, there are always the usual things to do during the weekend. Just because it’s St. Patrick’s Day, doesn’t mean you have to go out and get more sloshed than usual at some frat house. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t know what they’re missing.

Other than a functioning liver, perhaps.

So brush up on your biology and “alive, alive ohs” this weekend and have yourself a little fun before hitting the books once again. Then you can go and start Cinco de Mayo early during spring break.