In the first week of January 2018, I finally finished binge-watching all of "Game of Thrones." I had started watching in October of 2017, watching about 2 episodes per sitting, sitting down to watch only every once in awhile. My brothers continued to push me to finish, and my friend agreed to partner up with me and watch them together so that we could gossip about each episode.

Those months of watching the show I was so engrossed in what was happening between the North and South, and where the storyline was taking Jon Snow. I loved every season as the Stark family slowly but surely took over; I was shocked every episode by what psycho Cersei did, and I was extremely attached to every minute of the story as the dragons grew.

So you could imagine that when I finished the last episode, I was emotionally lost. I could see the closure of the show, but there were so many open endings. I wasn’t sure of what to make of it, or what to do next. I had lost the privilege of clicking “next episode” with a curious mind and eager spirit. It was done; the show was over. I immediately texted my brothers telling them about what I thought of the show, and we conversed for a while.

Then tragedy hit. Tragedy hit me as tragedy hit Winterfell. My oldest brother said, “I still can’t believe we have to wait until 2019 for the next season…” I felt as if Sir Gregor had body slammed me, or I had been backstabbed by Petyr Baelish. “2019!!!?!!” I replied. I couldn’t believe it. As I feverishly searched the Internet for an exact date of the return, all I got was the same tragic answer again and again.

A whole year of waiting, waiting to find out what is in store for my favorite characters, waiting to see who becomes the true king, the true protector of the realm.

What will I do? What will any of us do during this long period of a "Game of Thrones" drought? Right after I finished the show all I could do was talk about the show to my friend. We would literally spend a solid hour conversing back and forth on our opinions of the show, concocting conspiracy theories to what will happen in the final season.

But as time has progressed, I have had to resort to other options of keeping up. I myself have filled my brain with reminders of the great show by watching behind the scenes clips, character interviews; I've even spent some time re-watching episodes just to stay refreshed on what has happened in the past so that I can understand what will happen in the future.

I recommend doing the same for all of the other "Game of Thrones" fanatics out there who are suffering in this torturous wait. Stay strong in the wait, because winter is coming…in a year…maybe more…I don’t really know the date but it is coming.