After the Battle of White Marsh in the American Revolutionary War, George Washington decided to move his army from the White Marsh area to a more secure winter location in Valley Forge.

Valley Forge was no luxury hotel, with problems ranging from no clothing in a freezing Pennsylvania winter to massive food shortages, rampant disease, and malnutrition.

But despite this grave situation, Prussian drill sergeant Baron Friedrich von Steuben was able to whip the soldiers into shape, which helped them achieve victory in the Revolutionary War.

Starvation, frostbite, sickness, death, harsh military discipline: this is a great way of trying to understand the life of a de Toledo student during the autumn haze. The autumn haze is the period between Thanksgiving and finals, where full school weeks are the norm, with no Jewish holidays to ease the stress of studying for finals.

Like the American soldiers at Valley Forge, these students cannot seem to get a break! They are trying to “survive” in inadequate conditions with their massive workload, rigorous testing, and constant pressure to succeed. And this is while teachers, just like von Steuben, are trying to prepare their students for finals, which can make a student even more nervous than the battles that decided the fate of a nation.

One of the most interesting aspects of the autumn haze is how different grades are preparing and feeling about the impending finals.

Freshman Yonatan Goldman had this to say: “I feel nervous and stressed out because it is my first finals.” The freshman class is going through its first round of high school finals, and many are “stressed out” because they don’t have any idea of what is to come.

On the other hand, sophomores are not so afraid. “I feel prepared,” said Roy Vaknin. “Even though I need to study a little bit more, I feel like I’m going to rock finals.”
Though confident, Roy agrees there is pressure on every student to succeed on the finals: “Every student feels some pressure, but you can push through, you can take those finals and succeed.”

Even with three years of experience, junior Shira Rosen said, “I’m nervous for finals coming up because I have to prepare, keep up with my classes, and relearn the entire semester.” However, she thinks finals preparation can beneficial. “I think it’ll help with math especially, because a lot of the questions on the SAT are what we are currently learning,” she said.

Especially interesting was the perspective from our senior class, well represented by Roni Farkash, who said, “It’s stressful because I’m going through the college application process and have to worry about my grades in school. As soon as finals are over, seniors are essentially done, which makes me excited and also stressed.”

Finals are stressful, bring lots of pressure, and can make us extremely nervous. But, this is also a time when we can prove ourselves, beat the odds, and achieve our goals for the semester, just like the Americans at Valley Forge.

If we are able to buckle-down and work our tails off for the next couple of weeks, then in the words of Mr. Hendlish, “We will rock finals!”