College is a cool place filled with cool things, but there are times when it really sucks. These times are usually in the middle and in the end of the semester. Contrary to the beliefs of my mom, the end of the semester is not good. It is never good because this is the time when classes have reached *Plankton from Spongebob voice* maximum overdrive.

The thing is, they tell you that finals week is brutal. They tell you a million times in high school, a few more thousand times at orientation, and even on the first day. But you never know how bad it’ll be until you get there and you have five tests, two research papers, two presentations, and a portfolio due all in the span of two weeks (yes, that is my exact assignment layout).

But what high school teachers and orientation leaders and professors often fail to tell you is the greatness that comes from a week or two of suffering. As cliché as it sounds, you’ll be better for it.

Every student is different, but there’s no denying the feeling of total bliss when you’ve left your last class for the semester. Even if it was a great class and you loved the professor and the subject, leaving it behind for a long break is indescribable.

So those encouraging words I alluded to in the title of this are: remember why you’re doing it. It’s simple and you’ve probably heard this plenty of times before, but I want to tell that to you again. College isn’t easy, but neither was high school when you were doing it. Neither was applying for that job that you got or presenting that 20-minute presentation to a class of thirty people. But you got through it. College can and will be the same way if you let it.

No matter how many hours you spend in the library or how many times you’ve have to reread a page in a book that is only getting duller the more you read it, just know that in a few weeks, you’ll be done with it. You’ll be at home with your family or friends or sleeping in, or doing whatever it is you want to do. Yes, you’ll go through it all again in the evil cycle that is college, but it’ll be so worth it. And deep down, you kind of love it.