With less than a month of school remaining, students usually slip into a mad panic about the impending doom brought about by finals — or at least that’s what they would have you believe.

The fact is that while finals are difficult (as they should be) they aren’t that much different from a regular test. Panicking and complaining to your family, friends and teachers probably won’t boost your performance, but will have a have a contrary effect. Why waste your time complaining when you could be studying or being productive?

Students need to remember the reason you are in college is to learn. You are not paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to be given a free ticket to a degree. The education is essential.

It would be impossible to count the number of times Missouri Southern students (as well as students from everywhere else) post on Twitter or Facebook about how they log on to their computers to study or do homework, but just end up watching streaming movie services or checking social media. That is a personal choice which results in more stress at the end of the semester. It isn’t your teacher’s fault that you don’t have the self-discipline to withhold from watching movies.

So as this semester draws to an end, keep the complaints to yourself, turn off or cancel your Netflix subscription, brew a pot of coffee and study for your tests. Finals aren’t fun, but you’ve known they were coming.