December 22nd? A bit too late for finals.

The second quarter of school is a stressor, but it’s also a countdown. By the time October rolls around, school becomes a push to the Christmas season. But it’s hard to fully appreciate the holidays when your last semester final is on Dec. 22.

Finals week brings this stress to a whole new level. If you’re like me, you spend hours at Panera rereading every spark note on To Kill a Mockingbird to try and jog my memory — and you’re certainly not at home with your family enjoying each other’s company.

It doesn’t make sense to cut finals so close to the holiday vest. Students already spend hours reteaching themselves how to do geometry proofs and making 143 spanish vocab flashcards that they will just throw away the next day. Two days before Christmas Eve, I’ll walk past my huddled family as they laugh together over “Home Alone” and head to the computer. Yep, sorry family, I have to create yet another quizlet.

And it isn’t just family time that hits the cutting board with such late finals. Students that travel during the holidays are also impacted. Many families travel across the states to celebrate the December festivities with family. According to accuweather.com, Dec. 22 and 23 are the busiest travel days in the U.S. Our school schedule, though, lists the last final to be Dec. 22, which leaves families to drive or fly out on those exact dates.

The packed planes and overpriced tickets are an obvious turn-away for most families, leading to a harder traveling experience overall. Is it really advantageous to shove 400 kids in a room to retake finals in January? There’s a way to do this without causing stress to overtake the holidays and cause a slew of retakes.

I say we go back to school a few days earlier in the summer. All grades are set to return to school on Aug. 13, meaning the district could push all scheduled returns one or two days prior to create a more flexible and enjoyable holiday season.

This year we got out on the 20th which allowed for much needed chill time. Setting the date back later and closer to the holidays makes for less tacky family Christmas pjs, gingerbread house decorating and secret santa gift exchanges. That’s what the holiday season is all about, not smashing your Macbook into a wall after your 200-term Quizlet suddenly vanishes.

Throwing in hours of studying takes away my Christmas spirit. I would like to apologize to all my fellow peers who have to face my grinch-like spirit when next year’s holiday season rolls around.