You’re lying in bed, relaxing, not a care in the world. The sun is shining and you wonder if you should even change out of your PJs. You slept until noon and were able to finally get the beauty sleep you truly needed. There is just one problem: it’s not Saturday. It’s not even the weekend. It’s Monday and you have just missed four classes.

Skipping class may seem like nirvana for college students, but at this point in time, you really need to take your ass to class.

The first couple of weeks of class are some of the easiest ones you’ll have. Professors know that you are still getting acclimated to the way they teach, so for the most part they seem to go easier on you.This is the prime time for you to lay the foundation for you to get a passing grade, or better yet, an A. If you are at home marathoning the latest Netflix craze you will miss out on all of it.

Another reason to go to class is that you need to protect those few absences that your professor gives you. One day you’re going to get really sick or you have an event you really need to go to. Maybe a flood of biblical proportions has hit Statesboro and you would have to build an ark to get to class. Whatever the case may be, there will be a time when you really need to miss class and you can’t because you wasted that absence fighting off the hangover you got from the foam party.

I know sometimes it gets boring. I know sometimes it feels like you can’t even keep your eyes open. I know that sometimes courses can be extremely repetitive. I mean, how many times do I need to have a whole class period devoted to going to the library to learn how to find a source for a research paper?

Despite all this, I still go. Why? Because I paid for this. I paid thousands of dollars to sit in this class and hear this lecture. I paid hundreds of dollars to read this book that probably won’t even be on the test. And, for the most part, this is true for a lot of you as well. We invested in our education and going to class is a way of protecting that investment. In fact not going to class could cost you more money if you fail and have to take it again…or lose HOPE.

So take your ass to class. In the short term it may be tedious, but your bank account will thank you.