Well, it's that time of year again: a three-week winter vacation at the start of a brand-new year.

For most students (so I think), the winter vacay is usually the time to take a load off from the fall semester as a way to recharge and prepare to take on the spring semester, but for some, it's the time to take extra classes in-between semesters, a time aptly called the Winter (Inter)session. This is a time that can be used to fulfill a prerequisite or just have one (or even two) easy As under your belt, and these classes can come in two forms: either on campus for the majority of each week or solely online all the while.

However, if the vacation interferes with the extra schooling, or if these fast-paced classes are taken during the worst or a very sensitive time, or if the classes just aren't compelling enough to drive you to do your best work, then it would be a mark that will prove to be difficult to recover from for a long time. In my case, after an online Music intro class gone horribly wrong, it was an interchangeable mix among the three, and I still seem to be in the recovery process.

It is what I can now call the biggest regret I have of my college career.

As a newly transferred student from another college at the time, I had my first SBU class and failed it, and I didn't even set foot on campus (as an official student). This little mistake, a nearly $1,000 mistake, brought me down in my academics and self-esteem tremendously to this day, as my academic standing at SBU was later called into question at the end of my first semester, a sentence I never would have imagined of getting in school before 2017.

Although I have sworn off online classes ever since then, I have reason to believe that this class will be different from the one I took just two years before, in that I can actually benefit from it as well as being compelled to do my best to abide by it. Just days before, I registered for an online Tech intro class that would satisfy my TECH requisite and would most likely be a great asset for me as an English major, as I would get some insight as well as some experience, both personally and in writing and editing, from the various technological programs out there on the web.

With enough time, planning, and practice, this class would definitely make for an outstanding comeback grade on my transcript as well as great online writing experience to put on my resume! I may not be able to change this stupid mistake I made, along with the stupid mistakes that followed as a result due to two years' worth of self-doubt and lessened motivation, but I'm now willing to go far and beyond this time around to start this year off right.

It only takes one grade to break me down, but another can bring me back to my feet, to where I need to be.

So, always consider all of your options: don't take an online course, or any course in the Winter for that matter, if you feel you aren't ready to take on that three-week commitment during a time that should be reserved for relaxing, or if there are any other circumstances that may be going on at the time that could possibly interfere. However, if it's an opportunity for you to get back on top, or maybe gain some valuable experience that will be helpful in the future, then with the right mindset, practices, and support, by all means, go in for the $1,000 kill!