Midterms are over and Winter Week has begun. I am officially a second semester senior.
Being a second semester senior has provided me with the opportunity to explore new things. Notably, the opportunity to explore shows on TV. I have recently become an expert in Finding Bigfoot, Gator Boys, What Not to Wear and The Newsroom. With so much TV to watch, it’s hard for me to get off the couch and out of my Snuggie in order to accomplish anything.
But, I’ve done it.
Just because I’m a second semester senior who has developed a healthy appreciation for television doesn’t mean that I’m prepared to give up everything that I have worked so hard for. Although, sometimes that feels like the best solution because the end of the year still seems far away to me.
When you stop to think about it though, there isn’t that much time left in the year for any of us. After Winter Week, we only have two weeks until February break. And, after that, we have the promise of spring to propel us into the last part of the school year.
So, you may be wondering where I’m going with this. What I’m trying to get at is that it may seem like there is a lot of school left, and some of us may find ourselves in the position to start “coasting,” so we have to take this opportunity to reset ourselves and our goals. We need to remind ourselves to keep giving 100%.
I read a fitness quote the other day that said, “earn your shower.” This quote really struck a nerve within me and my muscles. When I go to the gym, I can’t in good conscience go home if I feel as clean walking out as I did walking in. I need to sweat, and to sweat a lot, in order to feel like I’ve accomplished anything. That means consciously pushing myself every workout, no matter how lazy I’m feeling.
Everything else in life is no different. Showing up to school everyday seems a wee bit tiresome with the promise of college a few months off for me, but if I have to be here I might as well make the most of it. Being a second semester senior is no reason to start letting myself go in any facets of my life.
So, this is my promise to earn my shower, literally in the gym and metaphorically outside of it, for the rest of the year. And if I, a second semester senior who has already received a college acceptance letter, can continue giving my all while maintaining my ambitious TV watching schedule, I promise that you can too!
No matter whatever happened before midterms, whatever happened during midterms and whatever you think will happen from now until the end of the year, don’t give up. Earn your shower.