Finding the good in the homestretch.
The end of the semester has a way of feeling like a sprint through quicksand. There are papers to finish, exams to study for, projects that somehow all landed in the same week. It's easy to put your head down and just push through to winter break. But I've been trying to do something different this time—actually noticing what's good about right now, even in the chaos.
Because here's what I keep thinking about: this specific combination of people, classes, and routines? It's temporary. After break, everything shuffles. The professor whose teaching style finally clicked for you? You might not have them again. That study group that formed organically? It might not reassemble. So this week, I'm trying to be more present in my last few classes. To actually enjoy that one lecture I look forward to instead of just taking notes on autopilot. To appreciate the friends I run into between classes, even if it's just a five-minute conversation.
And honestly? The timing feels kind of perfect. Everything outside of school is leaning into the warmth of this season too. The Christmas ads have taken over every screen—yes, even the ridiculous ones make me smile now. I've been rewatching the same holiday movies I watch every year, the ones that feel less like entertainment and more like visiting old friends. There are lights on houses, coffee shops have red cups, people seem a little more generous. It's a strange contrast to the academic pressure, but I'm trying to let myself exist in both spaces.
Because in just a few days, we get to step away from all of it. A real break. No assignments hanging over your head. No alarms set for 8am classes. Just time to sleep in, catch up with people from home, do absolutely nothing if that's what you need. Time to remember who you are when you're not just "stressed college student trying to keep all the plates spinning."
I think that's what's getting me through this final push—knowing that rest is coming, but also not wanting to wish away these last few days just to get there faster. The exhaustion is real, but so is the satisfaction of almost making it through another semester. The stress is real, but so are the people around you who get it because they're living it too.
So here's to the last week of classes. To showing up even when you're tired. To the friends who make you laugh in the library. To the Christmas music that makes even a Target run feel magical. To the break waiting just on the other side of finals week.
We're almost there. And it's okay to be both ready for it to be over and grateful for what this semester has been.
Until next week—enjoy these last few days,
James
What's one thing about this semester's routine that you'll actually miss over break? Or what's the first thing you're doing once finals are over?
