After enjoying a nice week or so at home for the first time in a while since you’ve left for college, you come back to campus dreading the next 3 weeks. Winter break is so close yet so far away. You have about 2 weeks left of actual classes and then it’s the best time of year- finals week. Just kidding, more like the worst time of year.

But hey, after finals you will be home for over a month and then it’s the start of the new semester. In my case, I’ll be rushing and it will be like a totally different college experience. Some classes I took this semester I actually enjoyed so I’m going to miss one of two classes and/or professors, but others, not going to mention any names, I cannot wait to never have to take again.

Okay, so after reuniting with your college friends after 1 week of pure separation anxiety, you catch up on anything that may have happened at home, find out the latest gossip you missed and then enjoy the last weekend out with your girls before you leave each other for a whole month (the agony I know). But then after living it up one last time this year and semester, all fooling around stops. It now becomes time for late night studying, not going out on weekends and being on that study grind 24/7.

As depressing as it sounds, it’s true. Hopefully, you’ll be lucky enough to not have a final during finals week for every class, but if you do you just have to plan out your time and study as hard as you can. Fortunately, I only have 3 finals out of my 6 classes this semester, but that doesn’t mean I will be studying any less.

College is so different than high school in this aspect because even though the class is less than half the amount of time as a year long high school class, the material covered is either the same or more. So basically you have all this information that was taught very quickly that you need to go back and reteach yourself. That’s where the library comes in… thank god it's open 24/7.

But be smart, take it easy on yourself at times and give yourself a break once in awhile. And one day of relaxing won’t hurt you, it’ll only calm you down. Hard work pays off, so as long as you try your hardest and put in the effort, you’ll do well.

Good luck!!!