Dead Week is upon us once again and we will come to observe the campus in a state of transition and tension in the week to follow. Dead Week means we have one penultimate week to prepare for our final exams and cram while anticipating and desiring the best results possible. This time of the semester also means we can look forward to Christmas break and spending quality time with our respective families.

We do not only have a multitude of things to look forward to during Dead Week but also the opportunity to reflect. During Dead Week, we can look back at the past semester and examine our efforts clearly. Using this week to reflect is uncommon, but can still be a helpful way to both appreciate and anticipate our time left in college. For some people this is the first (of many) Dead Week(s) while others have become accustomed to this semesterly tradition. Fall 2015 Dead Week marks my third trip to the post-Thanksgiving/pre-Winter break purgatory. The placement of this week is also very difficult.

The convention of Dead Week can be hard to grasp. Having 14 weeks of classes with the purpose of getting students ready for grading which is following a week where nothing much happens can be confusing. Ironically, Dead Week so often inspires the question, "Is our final cumulative or does it feature only material from our last point?" This question is often steeped in the idea that students don't typically need to go to class during Dead Week. Always go to class during Dead Week; go to class in general. Sometimes you just need to be beat over the head with information one more time, and skipping doesn't often provide the opportunity to learn.

So here we are, fresh off of a short break looking forward to some time spent enjoying our much forgotten free time. What are we to do? I suggest taking some time this week not only to look forward to our time away from school, but to look back on how we have spent our time in college so far. We will only have a few years of it, we might as well enjoy them.