Dear Spring Semester,

You’ve got a lot to live up to and a lot of slack to make up for. I’m exhausted and the cold-ish winter weather that’s coming will put a damper on my spirits. I’m entering into a slight, post-holiday depression and there are such good sales but all my money is going towards textbooks instead of a gorgeous new pair of Kendra Scott Dani earrings. I’m not bitter though; I have goals to crush this semester.

Last semester, I made a rather detailed list of goals for the fall and let’s just say that I didn’t conquer them. What does that mean for now? It means I keep the same goals and attack them head on again. My classes will be harder and my free time will be pressed to an even smaller, immeasurably tiny amount. That’s not stopping me from getting it done.

I’m also a nerd, so I want to learn a lot this semester. Learn in the classroom, learn about myself, and learn about all the people I’m blessed to surround myself with each day. I want to try something new and experience new traditions.

Oh, and can we beat Duke?

Fall semester has got the one up on you buddy. Football, warm afternoons on the quad, lots of free stuff, and good laughs from first years doing embarrassing things–that I remember doing myself. But, you’ve got a lot to offer me, too: SPRING BREAK 2k16 (plans TBD), snow day class cancellations, Dook v. UNC and March Madness, UNC admitting a new class of Tar Heels, and blooming flowers around the Old Well.

Let me take the chance now to tell you thank you. I might hate you in a couple of weeks, but not only are you challenging me everyday to be a better student and person, you give me the opportunity to continue my education at a beautiful school, a luxury that I take for granted all the time. Thank you for pushing me, preparing me, making me laugh, and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

May my Starbucks card stay fully loaded and my grades prosper. Here’s to more rom-com movie nights, cooking escapades with the fam, and Phase 1 tickets. You might not be as warm as fall semester, but I love ya just the same. I’m ready for you. Let me stop before I say anything else overly corny.