It is so close we can almost taste it.

Spring break.

But before we can jump for joy, pack our bags and leave our lives at school behind to take a break from the ever-looming pressure, loads of homework and sense of responsibility, we still have a few days separating us from this escape.

And these few days are just as important as the first few days of a semester and the final days counting down toward the end of semester.

We have barely survived midterms. We deserve a break. But we need to stay motivated and dedicated until our final class is dismissed on Friday.

More often than not, we find ourselves checking out the week before break, and when we come back from the well-deserved time given to us to spend however we want, we are slammed all at once with deadlines that we have been avoiding much too comfortably, for much too long.

We at The Daily Eastern News are not perfect students. We have had our fair share of slaps from reality after returning from a break that have been preceded by days of pure bliss and ignorance to the assignments and responsibilities we know will only get worse the longer we disregard them.

Although we do not have all the answers either, we can offer some advice and simple solutions.

If any of your classes are canceled or dismissed early, stay on campus and get a head start on one of the deadlines. Knock out an outline for one of the lengthy papers you know you are going to “accidentally” push off so it does not completely blindside you later. Read or reread chapters from past assigned readings to freshen up your memory and class notes. If that feels too ambitious and you are already too deep in vacation mode, simply write out a checklist for each class with all of the assignments and studying you need to do.

Something is better than nothing. During these last few days, do something. March 10 to March 16 is enough time to do nothing—you do not need a head start on that.

Stay strong—we are almost there.