Getting back into the groove of things is never very fun or comfortable for anyone at all. Professors are stressed with their new classes as much as students are, trying to get together a list of assignments for the semester and planning for each class ahead of time (if they’re given an opportunity). Students are scrambling around, looking for textbooks and feeling out their new schedules to see how it fits within their life. It’s not easy adjusting to a new semester, but there is something that’s a bit satisfactory that comes with it. It’s a new year, a chance for a new start. There are new classes to take and new things to learn. Along with all of this, there are new people to meet and new friends to make. So, the spring semester doesn’t have to be too stressful, but if the nerves of new beginnings get the best of you as they do many people, try to take a deep breath and relax. It’s some corny advice at best, but it makes a difference to remove yourself from the situation you might feel mentally boxed into. It’s time to take the clichéd advice one step further and remind yourself to think happy thoughts.
Take this opportunity to turn someone’s day around. If they can’t stay positive, be the highlight of their day. You never know what another person is going through. We all face a different struggle each day. So, treat one another with kindness. This semester could be your neighbor’s second chance at education, or someone’s first ever college course/experience. We all come from different backgrounds, with different friends, families, and lives, but we are here, starting together. If that doesn’t give you some affirmation, then I’m not sure what I can say that will.
Normally, I would make this article into some kind of a list such as “How to relax and start the new semester with a fresh feeling” or some kind of fluff piece that would fill the space of the page in the paper that’s designated for my name. I think most of us know how to relax by now. It’s finding the time that it takes to actually exhale and release all of the built-up tension that we seem to find ourselves struggling with. Procrastination is the enemy, but only a small portion of us has figured out how to escape him. However, now is our chance. We are given a new beginning with the new year and the new semester – now is our opportunity to redeem ourselves from our bad habits and old ways. You’ve got this. You can take a deep breathe, and you can push through this semester. After this one, you could be graduating, or going to start an internship or a semester abroad. No matter what your next chapter is, for now, we are all on the same page: Spring 2019 at the University of Massachusetts Boston.