As you huddle in your coat against a cold drizzle of rain, hustling to class, maybe you’re wondering if you can possibly stand another day of schoolwork as dreary as the weather.

No matter how interesting our classes are, we all have those moments. The cold wind outside seems to howl, “Stay in bed!”

Surely missing just one class, just one assignment, just one test won’t make a difference.

But it does, and we all know it, no matter how we may feel in our least-motivated moments.

Maybe you missed a critical lecture. Maybe your professor has a strict attendance policy. Maybe the A you could’ve gotten on this test would have balanced out a worse grade you couldn’t avoid on a harder test later.

Remember that the semester, like the winter, doesn’t last forever.

In just a few weeks, flowers will start to bud in the warming sunshine, and you’ll look back and realize the semester is more than half over.

When you do, you’ll either breathe a sigh of relief, secure in the knowledge that you are well on your way to solid grades, or you’ll feel a moment of panic set in.

Now is the moment to stay focused and remind yourself of your goals. Why are you at AACC?

Maybe you hope to transfer to another school. Are you looking forward to the excitement of moving into a dorm or joining clubs and sports teams?

Don’t let a month of pre-spring blues knock your GPA out of consideration for admission to your first-choice school.

Or perhaps you are working toward a degree or certificate that will lead you straight to a well-paying job. Imagine the paycheck you will earn thanks to the hard work you’re putting in today.

No more ramen noodle cups for lunch once you land that  job—but first you need to push through the drudgery to get there.

Your future self won’t thank you for slacking off now, no matter how dreary the weather.

So give yourself a pep talk and stay focused on building up a solid foundation of good grades for your classes.

And as the flowers start to bloom and the grass begins to sprout this spring, hold your head high, because you are that much closer to achieving your goals.