It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Finals are here!  Needless to say, I'm less than thrilled that I have to write about 40 pages in the next ten days.  However, the fact that winter break is SO CLOSE is what is getting me through all of this.  Oh, and coffee.  Lots of caffeine.  I have to start my paper-writing really early and make a schedule for myself because I can't handle all-nighters or marathon writing sessions.  It's also tough because this is the season for holiday parties and celebrations, so I'm trying to finish my work somewhat early so I can actually participate in some of those things!  Grad school is definitely a lot tougher than undergrad in terms of having free time.  It might also be that the Higher Ed program is only 1 year, so we have 5 classes and then work 20 hours per week.  It saves a lot of money, but it's an intense year!  At this point I'm really ready to start working full-time, but I'm trying not to let my grades slip.  Next semester's course load will be a little bit easier though.  So now to power through the next 10 days!  Here are some cute pictures that I'm using to motivate myself: