The week after Thanksgiving break is, in my opinion, one of the WORST weeks of the semester. I've learned, in my senior year, to have a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving break. It's so confusing. There's work to be done for school, but you're surrounded by family and friends and just want to relax. No one wants to even think about school or any of your responsibilities, but somehow, you have to? No thank you. Just give me winter break, please.

The Sunday back (or whatever day you come back after the break) is quite possibly the most stressful day of the year. You come back to realize that maybe you should've gotten a head start on that project or paper and suddenly realize you have a lot of work at your hands. Or maybe, you have that one teacher who decided to make a major project due Monday morning. Does this sound familiar? It sure does for me!

The stress the week after Thanksgiving break is UNREAL. It's so overwhelming because there are so many projects and papers that are due before finals week even begins. Not even to mention the presentations! It's go time the second you step foot back on campus after Thanksgiving break. Sometimes, I can feel my mind start to shut down by thinking about everything that needs to be done. I have this problem when I take breaks, I will be looking at my phone and think to myself, "Okay, just five more minutes and I will start again." And then those five minutes go by, and then it's this continuous cycle of telling myself "five more minutes" and still not getting anything done.

How do we deal with this overwhelming time of the year?

There are so many different ways to deal with this but the most important one is to breathe. Just breathe. List making, self-care, time management are all good too, but what good are those without breathing? What I mean by this is just simply trust yourself. You know you will get it done. It always does. It has to. Sometimes this can be easier said than done, but trust me. The moment you just break it down, day by day, these last few weeks of the semester won't seem as bad.

Breathing and constructive breaks, like yoga, are extremely helpful. It's easy to just pick up your phone on a break and lose track of time or get even more overwhelmed but still not doing anything about it. When I was in elementary school and got studying help from my parents, my dad would always make me do jumping jacks or take a lap around the house to stay awake. At the time, I didn't think that was fun, but now I am realizing that breaks like that are what we need to stay constructive. Studying or working while half asleep won't do anyone any good. Wake yourself up by walking, yoga, or maybe even jumping jacks.

I know we all find ourselves in these overwhelming, stressful situations toward the end of the year. Take a deep breath, do some yoga and deal with it. It's almost over, and you've already made it this far. You got this! I believe in you.