Wake up and smell the pollen, we are in the midst of spring. Personally, I’m struggling with the remaining month and a half of the year until freedom rings May 24. To cope, I’ve taken on Spring Cleaning, which has helped me endure the torturous weeks leading up to summer. When I say Spring Cleaning, I don’t mean sweeping floors; rather, this metaphor applies to how I, as a student, am trying to survive the long-haul through AP testing and final exams. Using this cheesy metaphor, I hope to help you survive the rest of spring.

Scrub your report card clean:

Right now, I have so many missing assignments my report card looks like I spilled Cheerios on it. While I still have a year and a quarter before I head off to college, fourth quarter counts for everyone, even seniors. Students may have already been accepted to the school of their dreams, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the year can be spent slacking off. In fact, according to collegeconfidential.com, universities can revoke your acceptance if you succumb to Second Semester Senior Slack-off Syndrome. Difficult as it may be to stay hard at work after admittance, doing make-up work is better than finding a new school.

Clean out bad attitudes:

Take it from someone who complains a lot, the whining gets old. Instead of grumbling about how much work there is to do before the semester ends, buckle down and do it. It’s so much more pleasant to have everything completed when the weather gets nice. Plus, your friends will be happy they don’t have to listen to your negative comments anymore.

Pick up your bedroom:

Okay, I know I said this type of Spring Cleaning wasn’t really about cleaning, but I lied. While I’m not suggesting you break out the vacuum and scour the house on a germ-hunt, it’s important to get organized, even if it’s just for school. The last half of the semester is much more enjoyable when your backpack and the desk in your room don’t look like war fronts.

Sweep in some sunshine:

Vitamin D is our friend. Even people with paste-colored skin like me (to be politically correct, we are “pigmentally challenged”) need a bit of sunshine. According to sunshinevitamin.org, people lacking Vitamin D tend to have higher rates of cancer‚ heart disease‚ osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. The cure? Catching some waves…UV waves, that is. Just exposing limbs to the sun can clear up worries for deficiency—not to mention there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting in the sun during springtime. Take Sheryl Crow’s advice: soak up the sun.