Usually, at the start of the semester, I am extremely productive. There is hope shining in my eyes, and I am ready to make the most of the semester, to make it the best semester yet. I get the homework done early. I get to class on time, and I am awake and alert during lectures. However, this tends not to last as the workload grows heavier and the stress starts to rise.

Dread begins to set in which leads to my counterproductive habits of procrastination, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and tardiness. I get less involved and start avoiding my obligations. My push, my drive to stick it out and succeed begins to wane, but it has never led to anything more than more stress and more piled up work. What I often lack is the potent feeling of determination.

"Undertale" is an RPG created by Toby Fox and was released in 2015. It features a child having fallen into the Underground, a world under Mt. Ebott that houses monsters who have been exiled there for years by the humans after a war between the two races. It is an extremely intuitive game, and every choice you make affects everything from dialogue to outcome. The game even knows when you alter it. You have the choice as the player to play a True Pacifist route, No Mercy route, or various Neutral routes where you can kill none to almost all the monsters, changing the outcome of the game drastically.

At the end of the True Pacifist route, you discover the character you controlled is named Frisk, and they possess a red SOUL which is characterized to be the SOUL of DETERMINATION. They possess so much DT (DETERMINATION) that they have the power to LOAD to their last SAVE point and RESET upon choice or death which is basically either time travel or timeline hopping if you ask fans. The SAVE points are generated by their DT which is their will to live and accomplish their goals whether it be to return to the surface world, free all the monsters, or complete a genocide of them all.

Though humans have different colored SOULS that signify their dominant traits, all humans possess more DT than monsters. If I were to type myself, I have a blue SOUL, Integrity, but that is not the point of this article. I joined the fandom January 1, 2018, but I actually started playing the game on January 1, 2019, and the morals of the game still resonate with me.

Determination is defined, according to Merriam-Webster, as the firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end, and it is something we all need to achieve anything. It is what starts to diminish in me as the semester drags on, but I do not want it to be so.

Frisk has enough determination to achieve anything they set their mind to, enough to free a civilization and overcome death. What are some exams to that?

This semester, I am determined to do my best. I am not saying I will not falter or fall back into old habits, but I seek to remind myself of my overall goals and keep striding forward despite the obstacles, be it midterms, essays, or difficult assignments.

I am determined to stick to my morals and values, exercising and growing in my faith, not giving in to peer pressure, or seeking to change myself due to insecurity rather than growth. I am determined to be positive and hopeful for the best of outcomes, and if I fail, I will keep trying or finding new ways to solve the problems I may encounter.

I may not be able to LOAD to before I make a mistake, but I can still let every success and setback fill me with determination to keep going and keep growing. Though it may feel like my HP is dropping no matter what I do, it is always possible to hang on and keep trying.

I hope, at the end of it all, I am still trying even if I am not succeeding as much as I would like (hopefully, I am), and I hope I manage to remain true to myself and can look myself in the mirror with truth to this little insight: "Despite everything, it's still you."