The time is here. Once-full parking lots now have vacant spots. The seasons are changing; November has arrived. The seemingly ever-present saving grace of drop day came and left, and now Nicholls students are in the last leg of the fall semester.

Some classes that were once packed now have many vacancies. The students who have never showed up to class are making a last-ditch effort to redeem themselves. Those who cannot go anymore have dropped classes or have dropped out altogether. With these changes on campus, lines for food in the cafeteria and in the Student Union are not as long as they used to be.

Teachers are now unloading the lovely bundles of homework they saved for us as our end-of-the-semester parting gift. These lovely bundles of homework are not being dispensed in just one class. For some of us, final projects, lesson plans and papers have been assigned and are all due before the Thanksgiving break.

All of these tasks seem as if they appeared without any warning. Now, we are expected to use what we have learned in a class thus far to complete a project or take an exam that tests us on everything we have learned since the first day of the semester.

It is time to either sink or swim.

We are faced with the questions: Are we happy with our grades in our classes right now? Or, should we go the extra mile and complete the extra credit to boost our final grade?

After enduring the hectic months of the fall semester, many of us are burnt out. The eagerness to perform well on exams and attend class is long gone. But, as Colonels, we must persevere.

Aside from the mounds of homework, students are scrambling to schedule last-minute advising appointments and are staying up until the wee hours of the night fighting a losing battle with Banner.

The graduating seniors are eager to walk across the stage on Dec. 10 in their caps and gowns and receive the diploma they have worked so diligently for. However, in order for these seniors to graduate, they must overcome their last set of finals and projects, just like the rest of us.

You are not alone. Almost every person on this campus has encountered some sort of stress or anxiety that comes with the territory of the end of a semester.

As said in the movie, “Joe Dirt,” we must “keep on keepin’ on.”

Arm yourself with a sharpened No. 2 pencil and a couple scantrons and show your finals who is boss. Be prepared for the next semester by meeting with your advisor and by being proactive in scheduling.

The battle is almost over, so why not emerge from it victorious?

Think about why you are here. Why did you come to college? Many will answer the previous question with some variation of, “because I want to succeed.”

In order to succeed, specifically for the fall semester, we must not give up. Why let the teachers win?