Thanksgiving break came to an end too soon leaving us with nothing less than a few extra pounds and a tease of our greatly-anticipated winter break.

We can all joke around and say we are still recovering from the severe food comas we were in last week, but we can't jokingly say we don't have finals waiting for us just around the corner because... well, the truth is, whether we choose to admit it or not, we do. That's right, finals. The annual holiday buzz kill.

Final exams have no positive connotation. We hear the pair of words and our heads immediately start to pound to the beat of drums. Some of us may go into a full-fledged panic mode, overwhelmed with the amount of studying we have to do while the rest may just completely postpone the concept until further notice. AKA, procrastination; A college student's worst nightmare.

On the other hand, we can look at finals under a more positive light.

We can look at finals as upon completion, our official tickets home. Let us think about how in just two short weeks, we will have put finals to rest and will be well on our way back home to our families right in time for the holiday hype.

Think about all the home-cooked meals we'll be eating, the long-awaited reunions between us and our beds, the Christmas lights and all the other holiday decorations that will be highlighting our neighborhood homes and streets.

Think about the candy canes, the Christmas trees, think about SANTA! We can't forget Santa. Think about the Christmas music we'll hear blasting anywhere from between the aisles of our supermarkets to every store in the mall and even from the loudspeakers at our local gas stations. The holiday spirit will be present absolutely everywhere we turn.

For those of us who celebrate Christmas, let us use this holiday to our advantage. Let us allow the smell of hot chocolate and peppermint, roasted marshmallows, and pine trees drive us to the finish line. Let us let the ringing of bells and the sound of Christmas carols play in our heads, on repeat, to excite us about the joyous holiday spirit.

Let us think about our friend reunions, our family gatherings and all the memories we'll create and cherish during our winter break. Let it all allow us to get our studying done, kill these exams and earn our ticket back home.

The holiday festivities may have already begun, but we all know the main event doesn't take place until we all get home. We are the hype. We got this. Let's go kick some finals ass!