The third quarter is notorious for being the worst part of the school year. It always has been, even since we were in elementary school, waiting for the days when it was too cold outside to go to recess to pass. This year has somehow felt worse than usual, though, and I find myself praying for summer to come, or even just a week where I don't have three tests and five quizzes. Along with this, the constant complicated weather has led to too many sicknesses, colds, headaches, and coughs spreading throughout the school halls. 

This need for warm weather, coupled with the scratchy, burning sensation in the back of my throat, has led to a very much dreaded decrease in productivity that typically hits during the third quarter. I feel unmotivated to even open up my computer, instead simply wanting to close my eyes for just a few minutes. But alas, I can't do that. Why? Because I have two quizzes on Tuesday, an AP Lang paper due this week, a French test, and countless more important assignments that I am most definitely forgetting. A nap wouldn't hurt too much, though. 

Unfortunately, I just don't have time for a nap. Sleep might help with my cold, but my homework, job, and sport, on top of the numerous extracurriculars I take part in, tend to prevent more than five hours of sleep each night, if I'm lucky. I have to keep pushing forward, though, as this is the most important year of my high school career, something I've been reminded of over and over again since I first stepped into this building freshman year. This motivation for college, and eventually my career, is what is keeping me going right now. I might not have a moment to breathe, let alone sleep, but eventually, when my Maggie Walker education has paid off and I have a successful career, it will all have been worth it. 

I truly wish I could offer more wisdom on finding ways to remain productive through burn out, but the only thing I truly know is to simply push through it. Working through any pain and exhaustion is how I have lived my life, and it is what will inevitably get me through the third quarter of junior year, into the fourth quarter, and eventually summer, where I can feel the sun on my back instead of the weight of my two hundred pound backpack.