Whether you're a first semester freshmen, or a well seasoned college student, we can all relate on this; College is hard when the semester's end draws near. The stress of end of semester projects, reports, speeches, and the ever so emotionally taxing final exams seems to always put us college kids in a poor mood during what many know as "the most wonderful time of the year." The light at the end of the tunnel of the semester is becoming brighter and brighter, and the thoughts of soon returning home to family and holiday traditions is becoming more real by the day.

The first experience with finals for college freshmen is one that I will never forget. I could easily equate that week of my life to being blindfolded while being asked to dodge fast pitch baseballs; I had NO idea what I was doing and had no real sense of direction as to where to even start at trying to tackle 14 weeks worth of material. All I wanted was to turn in that last exam, return my books to the bookstore, pack my car up, and get home to a month full of baking, decorating, sleeping (duh), and Christmas movies with my fam. A lot of you are probably looking forward to the same things, too. This year is different though. Going home to see parents, grandparents, cousins, and friends is something I'm super stoked for, but I know that as I go home to see one family, I'll be leaving my other one behind for a little while. That's right, friend fam. I'm talking to you.

I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way. The past 17 weeks have been an intense ride. It's been full of homework, exams, papers, reports, projects, and a whole lot of finding myself saying "It's fine. I'm fine." even when I was the farthest away from being fine. Who was there to see it all? The people that were placed along the path to go through it with: best friends. There is really nothing I would ever be able to do to thank my friend-fam for what they do for me on the daily. We love each other, we laugh at the most inappropriate times and never seem to be able to stop, we get real with each other when it needs to happen, we roast each other and don't hesitate to be savage, and we know that no matter what we say or do, that there is trust. I couldn't make it through each semester and finals week without them.

I know it seems stupid and probably not as big of a deal as it seems, but a month away from your college friends isn't easy. You will miss them terribly. The best news though? In just a few weeks, you get to do it all again with all of your special people, and THAT makes me insanely excited and happy.

You may not say it all the time, but I encourage you to let them know this Christmas season. As cheesy as it seems, honestly the most precious gift of all is knowing how appreciated you are. Hopefully after reading this, you've got some special people in mind and you won't let the day go by without letting them know how loved they are!