As I write this article, there are currently 293 days until May 18, 2017.

On that date, I will officially be a college graduate. This realization is accompanied partially by impatient excitement, as well as an unsettling feeling of imminent doom.

I find myself staring my future directly in the face; a path full of nothing besides roadblocks and obstacles, a dark and thick forest in which I have misplaced my compass. As I prepare myself—body and mind—for my final two semesters and the conclusion of my undergraduate career, I have decided to define my final months with three very common, very simple, words that the average person probably uses 50 times a day. I have the firm belief that by holding these words as law, I will find the strength and motivation to fuel the home stretch of my time as a college student.

Focus

Nine months and 32 credits stand between me and a degree. With this, it is urgently important that I remain focused, with as little distraction as possible to cap off my senior year. Grades are important, and I’m sick of the “Cs get degrees,” saying. I intend to work hard, stay focused and pour my heart and soul into these remaining months at Kean University. Although half of the post-graduate people I talk to tell me how easy I have it and how much they miss college, I don’t care. I’m eager to conclude my college career and begin my real one, to become a productive member of society and (hopefully) seamlessly transition into the next phase of my life. I believe I can achieve this by remaining completely focused.

Stress (don’t)

I have personally seen the devastating effects of too much stress on the shoulders of one person. Admittedly, I often subject myself to more stress than is necessary. I have lost hours of sleep, cried endless tears and developed some seriously nasty muscle knots from always having my shoulders tensed in anticipation and panic. Although I’m looking at my intimidating workload like a deer in headlights, I have decided that I’m going to stress about as little as possible, because it only makes everything worse. I’ve made a vow to myself to keep my stress levels as low as I can, so that I can coast through these last months while keeping the emotional turmoil to a bare minimum.

Proud

I have the honor of being the first female in my family to attend college. This, however, can sometimes feel like a cross to bear as well. All my life I was surrounded with endless support, and my parents never failed to tell me how proud they were of me. Because of this, I’ve always felt a significant pressure to do well, to live up to their praise and keep them continually happy. I try to make my loved ones as proud of me as I can, which is why I work as hard as I do in school, and get the best grades that I can. I know that when I walk across that stage on graduation day and receive my diploma, I will be making both my mom and my dad very proud. And that, to me, is more important than any degree or job possibly could be.

As I count down the conclusion of my undergraduate career by the day (literally), I can’t help but feel a bittersweet bud begin to bloom in the pit of my stomach. Because, as I close this chapter of my story, I feel that it is only the beginning. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, I'm just not sure.