Thanksgiving break is over and done with. Right about now is when you realize that maybe, just maybe, you should have done some homework over break. Instead, we’ll spend the next three weeks racing to the end of the semester, barely staying afloat.

That’s right, we’ve only got three weeks left, including finals week. So to everyone, I’d like to say congratulations. But especially to freshmen — if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably going to be able to finish your first semester with passing grades. Congratulations on nearly completing your first semester!

For some, it wasn’t what they expected, for others it was quite a bit easier than they expected, but for a good majority of newcomers, this was a difficult semester of studying, working on group projects and going to classes. Hours spent in the library and those late nights studying are finally paying off.

But now, as freshmen who have nearly completed your first semester, you are nearing the completion of an important stage in your life. By finishing your first semester at college, your chances of returning and earning a college degree have increased dramatically. If you can hold on and finish next semester too, your chances will have gone up even more.

So, I say to you, freshmen, and anyone needing inspiring words, we are almost done. Another semester under our belts, and more knowledge that we are able to regurgitate. So here are my words of encouragement: Don’t screw it up now. You only have three weeks left, and because it’s so short, it seems to just fly past.

We finish one week like that Thanksgiving pie and start another without even realizing it. Thanksgiving break has always provided me with a chance to sit back and reflect on the semester, the time I’ve spent reading, the time I’ve spent with friends, and to reflect on life in general. I hope you, too, had some time over break to sit and reflect on how the semester went.

We’ve experienced much in this semester: We voted in our first presidential elections, we saw our government attack another country, we witnessed the football team almost do well, and all we can hope for is a fairly interesting second semester. We did so much this fall semester and we definitely lived the high life.

In the coming weeks, our minds will be tested, cranked for every last formula, every last gerund, analyzing the Gestalt principle, or completing the stat homework. All of this is very important, especially now, near the end. This is when the entire semester’s worth of grades can be ruined because you didn’t want to study too hard for that test.

Don’t let it slip now, we are close.

But something that I feel is just as important as studying so much, is taking the time to relax. I’m not just talking about the phrase, “Work hard, play hard,” or getting plastered because you did well on a test. I’m talking about taking time for yourself in the next few weeks.

One of my moments of relaxing comes in the form of helping other students relax. I am lucky enough to be teaching 12 freshmen in the freshman honors program. In this course, we are able to do many things to help freshmen get involved and become active and valuable members of the ISU community.

I thought I was a nut my freshman year — non-stop studying and working on grades, but these kids have taken it to a whole new level. So what did we do on the last class before break? I played relaxation music and asked them to carefully reflect on the semester, and simply relax.

We’ve all worked hard this semester, well most of us, and it is important for us to spend just a few moments of each day in silent reflection. Reflect on yourself, your friends, your academics, your role in the world and your spirituality.

At Iowa State, we are not only grooming our minds to be the world’s best, but we are grooming souls. So, after reading this today, take two minutes, no more, no less, and sit and relax and reflect. You deserve it.