AP tests are done! Students have worked so hard and studied so long. The pile of Red Bull cans next to their desks have been cleared away, the stacks of flashcards have dwindled and the previously disabled social media sites are back up and running. Basically, students are recovering from the AP apocalypse. But how do you know you haven’t fallen and become one of the studying-dead?

1.      You can see the sunshine.

Students are finally getting outside. Yes, with sports, some of them have been out there for hours at a time. But for the most part, that fresh air has been tainted with the foul stench of oncoming APs and the endless hours of studying that come with it. Now CHS kids can head outside with some friends and soak up that sunshine without worries of wasting precious study time. They may choose to head to parks, pools or even backyards for some outdoor entertainment.

“Now that my APs are done, I can go outside with friends and have fun instead of staying inside and studying all day,” sophomore Aby Chun said.

2.      You’ve stopped walking around like a hunchback.

Most of the year, students’ backpacks are moderately stuffed, but with APs, they are bursting with papers and study materials, resulting in obese backpacks and sore shoulders. Textbooks, review books, packets, flashcards and just the general mass of papers needed to study at a moment’s notice weigh down on a student’s shoulders like the weight of the world. The end result—the Hunchbacked Students of CHS. The best thing for students to do now is to empty those backpacks and give their backs a break.

3.      You actually have a social life.

In their determination to study their eyes out in order to succeed, students’ best friends have become their review books, flashcards and textbooks. Social agendas have been tossed out the window in favor of the five at the end of the tunnel. But with AP testing over, parties and friends are available to hang out with and have a good time.

“Now I can actually be a teenager and visit the mall,” junior Miranda Catsambas said. “I can hang out with some friends that I haven’t talked to in a long time because I’ve been studying so much.”

4.      You’ve stopped making cheesy references.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. And if you can’t pitch hissy fits about the unfairness of life and all the exams it contains, then joke about it. Even if it’s only occasionally, students slip references and cheesy jokes into normal conversation without even realizing it. One second they’re talking about what to wear to a party, and then the next they’ve just made a comment about the historical importance of clothing in 18th century Europe. Now, students can put those references behind them and move on to making non-school related jokes. Or they can always keep making them!

5.      You don’t cry yourself to sleep.

Self-explanatory, really. APs require dedication, commitment, hard work and studying. And more studying. And possibly just a little more the morning of.  The APs are notorious for keeping students up late into the night, often into the early hours of the morning. The stress doesn’t help either. Even though teachers advise students to “get a good night’s sleep” before the exam, everyone knows that will never happen. But that’s in the past now, right? Sleepless nights and countless energy drinks are no longer necessary with AP weeks done and over with. So try and get those lost hours of sleep back, CHS. You need it.

“Instead of coming to school feeling exhausted and burned out, I feel refreshed and relaxed because there’s time to sleep now,” sophomore Michael Chen said.

6.      Better yet, you’re actually sleeping.

Finally! Or, of course, you’re still a CHS student and therefore required to get three to five hours a sleep per night no matter what. After all, we weren’t ranked for our academics this year, but we all know that CHS students rank #1 in stress and lack of sleep. But at least with AP weeks being a thing of the past, you have a chance.

“I ended up getting the same amount of sleep as when I was studying every night because I had to study for other classes too,” junior Julia Miller said.

7.      You’re in the recovery stage of “writer’s wrist.”

On AP tests, the written part gives students a chance to show the AP graders just how much they know. But all of that knowledge comes at a cost: the “writer’s wrist.” Let’s add up all those practice essays and handwritten flashcards from review week, then the 45 minutes to over an hour chunk of writing for salvation. The end product? Hopefully a five, and a lovely sore wrist. But it’s over now, so go ahead and relax those wrists!

“During my exam, I had to write so quickly to finish in time,” sophomore Nitul Purohit said. “I think I wrote at least five pages of essays, and my wrists were sore for a week afterward.”

8.      Your hands don’t “phantom flip” through packets anymore.

Throughout the year, the most common form of note-taking and learning takes place in packets. Multiple ones. What’s the point? Basically, when students go back to review, they have to start flipping those pages. Skim the page, flip the page, read for a while, realize that the last page didn’t actually make sense and flip back. The repetitive motion becomes involuntary after the 13th packet, but now students can relax a bit. The packets can go away, and so can the “phantom flip.” However, if symptoms continue, students should probably see a doctor.

9.      You’ve stopped thinking of life in terms of multiple choice options.  

Who knew that there were more than five options in life? For weeks, students have been thinking of life in terms of five choices. To succeed, students reason their way through key words and specific phrases. They use process of elimination and sometimes random guessing (pardon, educated guessing). Now, when students want to plan the weekend, they don’t need to sit down and analyze the depth of the question. Yes, rationality is always appreciated, but at least now students aren’t feverishly pressured for time.

“I’m free to make my own choices now,” junior Francisco Noguera said. “I don’t have to analyze everything for context clues or key phrases.”

10.  You’ve started to study for exams instead.

Well, that’s all folks. AP season’s over; it’s done; it’s a thing of the past. Time to relax, right? Jokes! Time to start studying for exams, everyone. Just when you thought you were in the clear! Anyway, good luck CHS!