To me, November is somewhat of a double-edged sword. On one side, the forthcoming of November indicates that the semester is only weeks away from ending, Christmas is right around the corner, and the temperature outside drops to the perfect degree of cool. Yet, on the other hand, November is that dreaded month where the ending of the semester means a significantly larger amount of school work, almost as if the professors are making their attempts at squeezing in as much information as they possibly can in the last month of class. To a college student, one that has been slaving away day and night for the past three months, the pressure embedded within the month of November is unnerving. If you're doing poorly thus far, November is the month to make your final attempts at recovery, and if you're doing good, well, it's important to not run out of energy.
Unfortunately for me, I am running of gas, and hitting quite a few speed bumps along the way. The problem is that I am seeing the finish line in front of me, I am seeing the last few days of the semester waving at me from afar, but with all of my energy being consumed by the beginning of the semester, I am just not sure if I have enough to get me through the end. I know I cannot be the only college student that feels this way right about now, and boy it doesn't help that the days are now shorter, and 5 p.m. sunsets make you want to get into bed instead of getting into the library. It's the November blues, an unofficial time of the year when everything just seems to be a little difficult, as if there's quicksand beneath your feet, making it incapable for you to make your way across the remainder of the semester.
This happens every year, for as far back in my academic career as I could remember. I would watch as students all around me, myself included, dropped their heads down in exhaustion, and talked about how their brains were quite literally on the verge of going up in flames. How there's a paper due here, a presentation there, discussion boards to write, and nightmares about not submitting assignments in on time being just about the only thing seen as we close our eyes at night. It sucks to know that you're not on top of the game like you were at the beginning of the semester. To see the gradual increase of tasks on your calendar and the accumulating deadlines on Canvas, while simultaneously having a decrease in mental energy, is just about as depressing as it could get.
Nevertheless, if you are reading this, and you too feel as though you are mentally drained and incapable of further academic activities, just remember that you got through this same dreaded month only a short year ago, and you made it out alive! I say that no matter how blue we might be feeling this November, we can manage to gather up just the right amount of energy to cross that finish line and be greeted with a well-deserved winter break.