You have the days, hours and possibly minutes until your last exam memorized and can mentally count them down. On your calendar, you have your first day of freedom circled or highlighted, or possibly you’ve trained a spotlight on the date so people on the street can see it and rejoice.

If you’re like me, you’re ready to go home. You know now is the time to buckle down and really focus on all those final projects and (forgive me for even using the word) exams. Yet, with all that rational knowledge, you can’t help but let your mind wander to the light at the end of the tunnel and the end of the semester.

After Thanksgiving’s glimpse of home and holiday, we are back, temporarily invigorated, for the torment of three more weeks. I imagine I’m not the only person for whom “three more weeks” has become a bit of a mantra. As I walk to class in the rain, sit through lecture after lecture and study for hours on end, three more weeks — soon to be two weeks — is constantly at the forefront of my mind.

It’s unfortunate that when we need focus the most, the ability to do so seems to escapes us. However, after pondering long and hard, I have determined that rather than fighting this intense desire to simply run screaming as far from campus as possible, we need to implement what I have decided to call mini-breaks.

The power of the mind is fascinating. People have been cured of cancer and have lifted cars to save their babies due simply to necessity and the power of their minds. I’m hoping with time, practice and possibly research (I’m looking at you, Centennial Campus), I might be able to use this power to convince myself that I am actually on vacation for at least an hour a day. I think this mini-break idea could be a quick fix that would help ease the stress of exams and keep us motivated to get through these last three weeks of pain.

I’m still working on the logistics, but my basic plan is to, every so often, drive all my worries and knowledge from my mind and convince myself I’m blissfully finished with the semester and cozily at home. I’m certain I can achieve the same rejuvenated feeling I got from Thanksgiving break if I can somehow genuinely erase my worries for some brief period of time.

I know it may not be possible. I know even with these efforts we may be unable to harness that supreme delight that comes from the freedom of the holidays. However, any little bit of encouragement or help I can offer is, to me, worth it. So in the event you are unable to convince yourself that you are safely and happily home, I instead will offer you my sincerest hopes that you don’t let the stress of the exam season burn you out or make you crazy. Hang in there! Remember, every day is one closer to done.

Are you beginning to stress out about finals and semester projects? Tell us at [email protected].