So it’s that magnificent time of the year again. The time after fall break and before Thanksgiving break. The time when classes stop being interesting, grades start slipping, and friendships start tensing. It’s the worst of times, but it’s certainly manageable.

I believe fall break to be a complete and utter tease. I got to go home for four marvelous days to watch my brother play football, celebrate my mom’s birthday, shop for my sister’s wedding dress, and go out for coffee with my dad. My grandma baked me a pie, and I got to nap on my beautiful couch (something unfortunate about college life is that the couches are just really not as great as the couches at home… and couches are necessary for proper napping). It’s so sad because all of that is the stuff I used to take for granted in high school. Home cooked meals and high school football games were the norm, and I certainly didn’t appreciate valuable time spent with my parents, grandparents, and siblings. But now, those are the things I crave. So to have it all for four days and then be ripped away? Torture. Pure torture.

Now there’s an awkward time between breaks, with Thanksgiving break tantalizingly close, what with its succulent turkey and lavish feast food such as corn, rolls, stuffing, and pie. I want it all right now. But at the same time there is much to be accomplished here. Lots of work but lots of fun too. These few weeks contain prime football season, Halloween, and the dawn of newly chilled fall weather, complete with boots, scarves, and sweaters (Let’s talk about how much I love when boys wear sweaters. Seriously, I love it.).

Now you could choose to view these weeks as a time to be homesick, stressed, overworked and underslept, or you could choose to see it as a time to give a big push before the holidays start. Personally, I can’t believe we are already almost to the holidays, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. These few weeks are a great transition from one season to the next. It’s a time to really celebrate fall in all its glory and hopefully dedicate a little extra time to the people you love at school. When you miss the people at home, let it serve as a reminder to cherish your time with friends here.

Finally, don’t allow yourself to wallow in the things you took for granted in the past. Personally, it’s easy for me to beat myself up for not spending enough time with my mom or occasionally yelling at my brother. But instead of doing that, work to avoid this same problem in the next stage of life by fully appreciating the one you’re in. Do the things you want to do, and appreciate them to the fullest. Go to the football game, and stay through the three hour rain delay. Stay up a little too late the night before an early class, as long as it means bonding time with roommates. Order the pizza, as long as with it you get lots of laughs and a nice distraction from school. Live in the present, without worrying too much about what you’re missing elsewhere. It’s certainly something I need to work on, and I hope we can all learn to appreciate every minute of our time spent here.

So although these few weeks are hard on all of us, don’t let yourself sink too low. There’s so much to look forward to, and plenty to be happy about.