By Parker Stinnett

It’s a week before finals and you are about to graduate with your bachelors in Communication. Everything comes down to these final four exams that you must pass before receiving your degree. You know the stakes at hand, and you want to do every possible thing you can to succeed on these tests but for some odd reason, you cannot grasp enough focus just sitting on your bed or at your desk.

Luckily, you’re a student at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens Tennessee where there are handfuls of great places to go and study and just get away to get that relaxed and focused feeling you’ve always wanted to have. For starters, students at TWU have many options on campus for great study spots such as the study rooms in the top level of the student center, the chairs placed throughout campus in front of the many fire pits, and even the Trinity Church on campus allows the students to come and do what they need to do, to be successful students.

Ranging off campus, Blue Front Coffee Shop is a great pace to go get your school work done and hang with friends. Sitting about five hundred feet away from campus, I can guarantee you won’t be the only one stopping by to work on your math homework. Moving down the street about two hundred feet closer to the school are the benches right across the street from trinity Church. There are three to four benches in a nice grassed area that are nice and peaceful depending on the weather of course. Another great place to give a try to would be the Athens Regional Park, located 3.0 miles from campus and is only an eight-minute drive. It offers great scenery and different locations to sit and study about.

If you’re studying with an appetite, Athens gives you multiple places with food menus to conquer the hunger with. Maddie Mae’s on S White St and is located about .3 miles from campus or a quick seven-minute walk. They are known for their friendly approach to their customers and for their well made sandwiches and frozen custard. Along with this, Jenkins Restaurant and Deli is also a great option for a study spot. It happens to be one of the most well known places in town and offers a great deal of food choices from chicken salad all the way to fish and chips. It gives a homey feeling when you walk in and is located just 1.0 mile from campus.

One final place worth mentioning would be the city of Cleveland Tennessee. It is about thirty minutes from campus down I-75 towards Chattanooga. Cleveland offers everything Athens has to offer but just doubled in size and choices to choose from. A great spot to go study or even just getting away from the school work and enjoying your day.

As finals week approaches, look to these places to get you out of your comfort zone or maybe back into your comfort zone while studying. A small change in scenery just might give you the edge you need to break through your mental block.

Edited by Marco Martinez
Photos by Dan Thornton