Gearheart: My mid-semester blues
We’ve officially come to the worst part of the semester: the middle. Looking back on the eight weeks we’ve (finally) completed, it seems as though this semester has been going on for a lifetime. But looking forward is even worse because there’s the terrible realization that we’re only halfway through — we still have to make it through eight more weeks.
It feels like just yesterday that I was staring at a nearly blank agenda book, but today, I can barely squeeze in a nap. It’s entirely my own fault, of course; after all, I was the one who convinced myself that taking 19 credit hours this fall wouldn’t be so bad. And then, because I apparently love biting off more than I can chew, I jumped into three new organizations.
Fortunately, I know I’m not the only one who is “so over” this semester. Nearly all of my classes have shrunk to a quarter of their initial attendance numbers, and I can’t be on social media for more than a few seconds without seeing someone post about how sick they are of school.
Each week, my to-do list grows more and more. There’s a new test or quiz popping up every week, presentation dates are approaching faster and faster, and the second I think I’ve finally caught up on everything, I realize I’m just barely getting started. How in the world am I going to make it through all the remaining semesters until graduation?
For now, I’m taking it one day at a time. That’s all I really can do.
I’m making detailed to-do lists and taking satisfaction from each and every item that I’m able to cross off. In my mind, I’m attempting to re-frame the rest of the semester. Instead of thinking, “we have a whole eight weeks left,” I’m trying to tell myself, “we only have eight weeks left.”
When I successfully finish something big, I’m rewarding myself with a nap or some Netflix and sometimes even a little shopping splurge. Those little rewards give me a little boost to push through even more assignments because there’s the promise of something good to come.
Rather than staying up ridiculously late to finish a project, I’m making sure that I’m in bed at a reasonable hour (well, usually, that is). Sacrificing my health and well-being for an assignment or a commitment just isn’t worth it.
Whenever I manage to get myself into a really productive streak, I keep riding that until it ends. Motivation just isn’t always there for me, so when it is, I try my best to take advantage of it until it runs out.
On days when I really need an extra push, I sit down and think about the goals I set for myself. I’m not in college just for fun — I’m here because college is a huge, necessary step towards successful future I’ve been imagining for myself since elementary school. And while I’m here, I have a number of things I intend to accomplish. Reflecting on my goals keeps me on track.
Finally, when it feels like the end of the semester will never get here, I remind myself that time is actually flying by. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt like a semester was dragging, but when I look back, even the longest times seem to have passed in the blink of an eye.
In January, when I think back on this semester, I won’t remember this feeling that it can’t end soon enough. What I’ll remember is that it flew by even faster than the semester before.
Ashley Gearheart is a second-year majoring in communication.
