Dorm rooms light up, the air fills with words and smiles, the snow slushes beneath my feet.

It’s a new semester, starting tomorrow, and damn if I’m not excited for it. My break my long, lazy and dreamlike. It was a stasis, a hibernation, a rejuvenation. I’m ready again for the ravages of a semester of schoolwork. But I can take it this time.

Everything is gonna be done right. The dishes will be spotless, my clothes will be clean and folded right on time, my schoolwork will be challenging but completed, and on time. My friends will laugh lightly, I’ll be able to take a breather, but I’ll keep up with the pace of the river. I won’t get caught in the current. And I’ll break the surface, if only for a moment, leaping.