The Stress of Finals

For this project, I intentionally waited until the very last day before finals to start. Throughout the school day, I snuck photos of my classmates as we went over reviews in class and studied for our upcoming tests. It was important to me that all of the photos in this project be candid so that I could capture the feeling of stress that each individual felt without them faking it, as people tend to do when they know a camera is being pointed at them. The photo in the top left as well as the middle photo on the right were taken during algebra. While usually the class is very spirited and fun, the atmosphere today was stifling. With the final looming over our heads, it is hard to remember all of the equations and methods of solving we learned throughout the semester. As a result, many of us get stressed. The middle photo on the left, the bottom right photo, as well as the middle bottom photo were all taken during A.P. U.S. History. Since we took the A.P. test two weeks ago, the period has become a sort of study hall where we can work on whatever we want. Today, instead of playing charades and watching movies like usual, the class was focused on working, a theme shown throughout these three photos. The last two photos which are located in the upper right and bottom left were taken during my last period, lifeguarding. Like A.P.U.S.H., this class has become a free period since we took the final last week. While normally people choose to swim in the pool, play catch, or turn the storage container into a hot tub, people today were absorbed by their studying. All of these photos as a whole represent the stress placed on students nowadays. While I love school and learning in general, tests, especially finals, make it hard to focus on actually gaining new information. As a result, I wanted to capture the feeling that all of us know so well this time of year and put it on display to show everyone that they are not alone.