The end of fall semester for a Middlebury student typically parallels winter season sells. Thanksgiving Break = Black Friday. We get a couple days off to relax (or make some final-year purchases at a discounted price). But just as shopping malls restock their inventory in preparation for christmas sales as soon Thanksgiving is over, students returning from the Thanksgiving holidays have one thing on their minds: Christmas break.

The end of the term is not far away. In less than two weeks, classes will have ended. In less than a month, most students will be back home. For some, that means a relatively short drive away from campus. For others, that means getting on one (or a few) flights over a period of hours or even days. In any case, before we know it we’ll be gone and another semester will have ended. Of course, fourteen days doesn’t seem that long until you start factoring in the amount of work that needs to get done before we are free.

As all my fellow students would agree, finals week is tough. Starting next monday the library will be open 24 hours. So exciting! Its my favorite time of the year. Really. Not. Well, it depends I guess… For any prospective students reading this, I’m sure its going to be a stressful few weeks as well. Not only do you have to prepare for school finals, deadlines for college applications are right around the corner. I understand. I was there once too. In fact, I’m doing the same thing for graduate school right now.

Sometimes there’s an urge to give up, convince yourself that you dont want it, and watch hulu. In some cases, this impulse is right. Its time to reevaluate priorities. There isn’t much time left so start thinking about what you wan’t most. Be smart about how you tackle these upcoming weeks — a little planning can go a long way. Be attentive to details, but focus on the big picture. As you probably already know, its always worth it in the end (in some way or another).

Good luck to everyone. The reward is waiting.