It’s always after Thanksgiving break that the game changes. All of a sudden, the midterms are over, the papers get whipped out, and the due dates smack you in the face like a stealthy ninja. I did warn you about them, didn’t I? Somewhere between the pumpkin cheesecake hangover and the cracking of knuckles to prepare for Cybermonday, a long burdened sigh escapes your lips subconsciously, and your eyes dart to your pile of textbooks, and right there, at that moment, you realize, it’s do-or-die. There’s no more time for couch flopping, no more time for “I’ll just squeeze in one more episode of this show”. Because at this point, you realize there’s only one more month standing between you and that glorious A (or B, or C, or anything above an F, hey I’m not judging. I’m in this to survive just like you are), and this last month is booby-trapped like a minefield. Just when you think you can breathe after barely making the deadline for that paper, OOF another due date appears out of nowhere and sucker punches you faster than you can check off your to-do list.

College. Gotta love it, huh?

If you’re looking for any tips this time ’round, let me just say this. There’s only a month left! You’ve made it this far and you’re more or less in one piece, aren’t you? Honestly, the most difficult paper and the longest presentation can be finished in a matter of days if you really dedicate to it. Use your resources. Google and Wikipedia will always be here for you. (When using Wikipedia, always cite the sources that they give you at the bottom of the page. Wiki may not be a legit source, but every single one of those little References at the bottom of the page are. Close your eyes and pick one. Do “eeny, meeny, miney, moe”. Knock yourself out, it’s a legit-sources-palooza!) Do what it takes to drown out the world and get yourself to focus. For me, I like to put on my headphones and listen to music while wrapped up in a hoodie.

Point is, you’ve made it this far and are still in the game, so you obviously care. All it takes is that small flicker of caring-of wanting to do better because damn it, you know you can-and holding on to that small flicker and letting it burn you to do what needs to be done. So don’t even think about taking out that white flag. Surrender is not in our vocabulary. It’s a game to the end, and my God, we are going to see this through.

Step 1: first due date. Let’s do this.