Sleet covers the streets, a sickly color that leans between mud and dog urine, the sky is a gloomy and dark gray, and the last thing you want is to leave the warmth and comfort in your bed to venture through the cold winter air to go and sit in class.

It's that time of the year. Christmas has come and gone, leaving students with spring break in the far distance, separated from a week off from class by January and February which are, arguably, the hardest months in the school year. For those of us in the north-east, there's snow, rain, and sleet pouring from the sky most days, gray clouds suspended over our heads, and the sun has taken a vacation until March at the earliest. The days are too short to get anything done once the sun sets before 5 o'clock, and the chill in our bones never seems to leave.

Classes, at this point in the year, would be easy to skip. Hit your snooze alarm, roll over, and forget about readings, papers, and professors between your pillow and blanket. The semester feels like an eternity, and your professors probably do not want to be there either, so why bother?

You should go to class. You should always go to class unless you have a bona fide reason not to, but the warmth in your bedroom and the snow on the ground outside does not serve as a genuine reason. The fact of the matter stands that getting up is half of the battle. For my school, we only have twenty-eight class meetings for a regular class that meets twice a week. Sure, if you skip once, it's not the end of the world. The professor will still continue to teach with or without you, and the universe will not implode.

But, when it comes down to it, you're paying thousands of dollars to go to class. So, as far as I see it, you should probably follow through with the investment you put in. Going to class is exactly what you're paying for, and it's at your own expense when you are not there to fill the seat.

Of course, your professors do not want to get up from their own beds either. They would rather shut the blinds and not go to work, would rather call in sick and take the day off to catch up on sleep. Yet, they do because they recognize the worth of going and follow through with their commitments. Which, after you, is similar to the circumstance of a student. By registering for a class, you say that you are committed to carrying through with the work expected of you, and showing up to learn at the appointed time.

If you want the degree, then you need to put in the work to get it. Sometimes, it means staying back on a Friday night to finish a paper, other times it means studying until dawn for a final, and during the winter, it means trudging across campus to sit in lecture for an hour. The professors recognize those who are there and prepared for class each week, and all is not for naught. You'll feel better for going, even if your shoes are damp and you only had seven hours of sleep instead of eight. Just go to class, you will get through it.