I think college students everywhere are going to join me in saying “Thank goodness for fall break!” We’ve all been going for over a month straight, no breaks, new semester, just going and going and going. I’m feeling burned out. I’ve been procrastinating more, pushing things off, not caring as much. Yet I keep pushing forward because of the promise of fall break (just two days after this publishes!).

And yet, how much of a break will fall break be? On the other side of it are nearly 2 months of projects and performances and papers all rocketing toward final exams. We should be already be thinking about the next semester and then that snowballs into summer plans and future plans and yeah, maybe fall break is a good idea so I can forget about that stuff in a good old fashioned binge watch. If your professors are of the same mindset, they will try to squeeze in as much work as possible before so there’s less you have to do during.

I think the point of this article is to offer some words of encouragement and advice, to both readers and myself. The first little bit is a pat on the back. You’ve done it! It’s been nearly eight weeks of constant class-going and you’re still there on the other side. If your grades aren’t quite up to snuff, you have the time to fix them. And soon it will be Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas, little rewards for this continued hard work.

Fall break is a time to recharge, but it could also be a time to catch up. If you’ve fallen to procrastinating ways, this is your time to get back on track. Start researching for final papers and projects, pick a topic, review materials, read something. But be sure to reward yourself. Go home. See family and friends. Do something for yourself that you can’t during the regular week.

And here’s a message of hope to everyone out there who has been getting a little sick of this constant hot weather: after fall break, we’re halfway through October. The weather should be changed to more of a fall-like pattern. Of course that could mean the time to get to winter is a bit shorter as well, but at least for a little while it might actually act like fall. Cheers to sweater and boot lovers; we’re almost there!

So whatever you are planning on doing this fall break, I wish you the best of luck. It’s the midpoint of the semester, and there are so many wonderful things to look forward to afterwards. Spend your fall break however you want to spend it, and get your game face on for all that is waiting for you when you get back.