What does the beginning of the school year mean to you? Does it immediately bring dread and clouds of stress? Does the thought of school only bring you nightmares of last semester’s final's season and of telling your mom that for the fourth semester in a row you did not make dean’s list? Or does it bring you happy thoughts? The kind filled with excitement about the fact that you are one semester closer to graduating and chasing your dream? If you don’t fall into the last category, why don't you? You could be.

The beginning of the semester is a brand new start. Another chance to be great. You have a clean slate. You haven’t broken any promises or missed any deadlines or skipped out on any responsibilities yet. This is the semester that you can get your life together. This semester you can get your best grades yet and make your parents proud. If you're sitting there shaking your head already listening to the negative thoughts, you must stop. Why not you? Why can’t this year be your year? What is stopping you from having your best year yet? Is it self-doubt? Or the people you associate yourself with?

Our time in college is often referred to as our glory years. When you graduate, how do you want to remember your time in college? Do you want to be at peace with how your four years as an undergrad went? Or are you going to be the person that changes the topic at Thanksgiving when it’s your turn to talk about school? How do you want to tell your kids about your college years? That’s all it really comes down to.

Whether you're an incoming freshman or a senior, it’s not too late to turn your academic career around if that’s the situation you're in. If you're someone that already has had great success in the classroom, can you be better? If you're one of the blessed few that gets to call themselves a student-athlete, can you earn a position on the starting roster? If you already were a starter can you be an All-American? Can you break every record your school holds? The answer is yes. Nobody can hold you back like you can. With hard work, accountability and faith, anything is possible.

So this semester, redecorate your room, clean out your car, throw away all the bad food in your house, stay up a little longer to study, or take those extra reps. Whatever goal you are striving for or have ever wanted to achieve, do it now. It’s never too late to start. You've got this. There is no greater form of optimism than that of the beginning of the semester.