I’m loading up my last-semester bucket list — are you?

Welcome back! If you underwent a smartphone or social media cleanse this past break, I’ll bring you up to speed. Everywhere got really cold out, the #MeToo movement picked up speed and we’re not (yet) engaged in a nuclear war with North Korea. Is everyone caught up?

Great. It’s now Jan. 8, the first day of the Spring semester and the start of the second week of 2018. For some of us, this is a new term in the beginning or middle of our academic careers. For others, this will be the semester we say goodbye to UF, Santa Fe College or Gainesville itself: as graduating students, as professionals in search of new jobs, as people on to different places in the great beyond. What will you do with the rest of your time here?

As a graduating senior myself, I’ve been toggling back and forth between nervous excitement and sentimental nostalgia for a town I haven’t even left yet. I know I’ve talked about new-semester resolutions and yearly goals in the past, but this new semester — this new year — feels different. I can’t say, “Well, I’ll just do that next time,” anymore. Next time is now — and that adds on a lot of pressure on the entries I’ve had on my bucket list since my first day of freshman year.

So this has me thinking, perhaps it’s time I review that bucket list. So, without further ado, here are some of my major goals and must-do’s for my final semester (and please feel free to borrow some for yourself to add to your own).

First up: Eat local, shop local. Your body and soul will thank you. This is the semester, reasonable budget allowing, I vow to try every kicka-- Gainesville restaurant I haven’t gotten to yet. The range of diverse food options just in the 15-minute radius surrounding UF’s campus can totally surprise you — and the restaurants usually provide a quality bang for your buck. I am not letting one hidden gem go outside my grasp this semester (and, in the spirit of friendship, you’re all invited).

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be showing up at more music venues and downtown shows this semester, too. The local music scene features tons of awesome indie and underground artists, as well as a few more popular bands and musicians, too. Like the food in Gainesville, the range of musical acts and artsy shows is good for the soul.

Yeah, yeah, it probably goes without saying, but I’ll definitely be hitting up Midtown a little more this semester. I don’t plan to trudge my way through sloshy bar floors and crowded bathroom lines and stairwells in my 30s, so why not get it out of my system now?

Most importantly, I intend to tell my Gainesville network — my closest friends, my club acquaintances, my professors and mentors — how much I have loved and appreciated their support throughout these past few years. Somehow, the years have simultaneously flown by and taken a lifetime.

Without the network I have been so lucky to call my own during my time here, I truly don’t know how I would have done it. From the bottom of my heart, I want those people to know how much their advice, vent sessions, late-night Midnight Cookie feasts, reality checks and hugs have meant to me each step of the way.

So there you have it. This is by no means my full bucket list for the upcoming semester, but it’s a good place to start. No matter where this Spring term takes you — or takes any of us — remember the goals you have set for yourself with each new day, month or semester. I know I will.

And for the love of all that is holy, can someone make sure I visit Devil’s Den Prehistoric Spring before May 6?

Mia Gettenberg is a UF criminology and philosophy senior. Her column appears on Mondays.