While spring brings warm weather, cherry blossoms and lush, green grass, it also brings the dreaded “hell week,” or final exams.

One thing is for sure; this week of torture, which is right around the corner, will bring mountains of stress with the mountains of work it tosses onto our desks.

But, what does stress usually lead to? Indulging, because when you get home after spending six hours at McKeldin, you absolutely deserve a bucket of cookies or almost an entire pizza.

If you’re aiming to reward yourself with food after you’ve put in the hours studying, take note of these students’ most worthwhile indulgences that will leave your mouth watering (and maybe even looking forward to finals?).

“In New Orleans, I had a White Russian milkshake—you can get them up to 64 oz. sizes—then I had a po’ boy that had deep fried oysters in it with a side of deep fried French fries and for dessert I had another New Orleans speciality: banana pudding.”
– Molly

“I ate all but one or two slices of a normal-sized Papa John’s pizza in one sitting.”
– Kathi

indulgence

Photo by Jennifer Cao

“It’s not really crazy, but I go nuts for some apple pie and vanilla ice cream. I think I’ve had half a pie before.”
– CJ

“My friend introduced me to eating animal crackers [dipped in] frosting. I’ve gone through bags of animal crackers…and I’ve gone through two containers of frosting so far.”
– Naomi

“When I get hungry and want a snack, I just go and eat about a half-gallon of ice cream. I sit down with the entire half-gallon box and just eat it.”
– Michael

indulgence

Photo by Jennifer Cao

“I’ve eaten tuna sandwiches with extra provolone cheese and a lot of bacon…[sometimes] I eat two a day.”
– Adriana

“There’s this restaurant down the road from me that makes huge, delicious cakes. One night, I ate a platter of fried fish there and then for dessert got a huge slice of their triple chocolate cake that has a ton of chocolate frosting and chocolate chips.”
– Sam

indulgence

Photo by Jennifer Cao

“One time, two friends and I ate a whole ice cream cake. It was a celebratory thing, but it was also a bad night.”
– Hannah

“Fried Oreos were my craziest indulgence, definitely. I had 10 in one sitting. They were really good, especially with a little bit of powdered sugar.”
– Travis

“At a backyard barbeque, my friends and I decided to see who could eat the most watermelon and we cut up probably 10 pounds of watermelon total and we ate all of it…it was between three people.”
– Jenn

One of the most perfect ways to counteract a hellish night spent studying is with a hardy meal you can indulge in.

From devouring almost a whole pizza, to a tub of ice cream, to deep fried oysters, UMD students have seemingly indulged in it all and have lived to tell the tales.

Now it’s time to put these indulgences to the test of boosting your mood during hell week.

Other ways to treat yo’self: