How I Made It Through The Spring Semester
After what always seems like both a short yet never-ending spring semester, summer is finally here! However most of the time, once you reach your junior year, your summers start turning more into preparation for the upcoming semesters and your future outside of college. Ask anyone that goes to a university and they will tell you that the spring semester generally tends to be the most challenging.
This is the time to take your harder classes because everyone knows that there won’t be as many events or distractions that come along with the fall semester happening during the spring. In fall there is always a tremendous amount of things to attend like sporting events such as football games, and parties every single day, no exaggeration. I guess this could also be because the weather is always so nice as well. Let’s face it, who really wants to get dressed up to go out into below forty degree weather?
At Florida State University, it’s hard to meet someone who isn’t involved in at least one other thing aside from taking classes. Here, and I’m sure at other colleges, every student finds themselves in various organizations that range from greek life to special interests. This spring semester was a roller coaster ride for me. I worked as a dance teacher at a local dance studio teaching three days out of the week, was an active member of a community service organization, served as a mentor for an organization, and I was a co-captain for a dance company at my school all while taking core courses aimed towards my major.
Get yourself a planner!
Some people think that their iPhone is enough when it comes to being organized and plugging in reminders, I was one of them. But through some not so good semesters, I learned that it is best when you can physically write what you have to do and see it constantly in your planner that helps you stay organized.
Schedule!
Consider this tip the family relative of tip number one. I regularly see my friends purchase very expensive or thorough planners but they fail to actually schedule their lives into them and might only write a couple of things. Often maintaining your grades, organizations, and social life can be overwhelming but I can honestly say I probably only had about one big stressful freak-out this semester, and that’s big for me! I did this by having a schedule and sticking to it. It works best to designate times or blocks for studying, leisure, social activities, and so on. I suggest again, at the start of the semester, writing down a schedule for yourself and putting this in your phone and planner.
Set Goals!
Goal setting is a must. I made not only basic New-Year’s resolutions but I was able to plan for how I wanted the semester to go for me. If you don’t have goals for every new semester then you will be more likely to get off track. I wrote these goals in my iPhone– notes– and referred back to them whenever I was feeling stressed. With goal setting, it allows you to be clearly aware of what is expected from you by planning out specific, measurable, and time conscious goals. It is also important that these goals be realistic. For example, I would be pushing my luck if I set my academic goals for all A’s. Know what your capable of and push yourself a step or a couple of steps above in terms of the goals you want to accomplish.
Tip 4
Learn to say NO!
If it’s one thing I took away from college immediately is that you cannot please everyone! It’s perfectly okay to be selfish and do what is best for you. If I really attended every party I was invited to or all of the events that my organizations had that were not mandatory to go to, I am pretty sure I would be on a thin line of failing. It’s great to be social and meet new people; that is what college is often about but I’ve seen many times people getting caught up in always being seen and pleasing others that they fall behind in what is most important, getting an education.
Tip 5
Focus on Yourself
Somethings that held me back from working towards my full potential was often I would see how successful others around me were and I would wonder why I hadn’t experienced that yet. It’s human nature to sometimes worry about other’s opinions of you or look at their lives and compare it to your own but once I stopped doing this and focusing on myself, many doors began to open! I wasn’t constantly consumed with social media, or trying to impress anyone. Never aim to seek validation from others. I find myself focusing on my tasks that promote personal and professional growth!
All through a span of two weeks, I received great offers that validated my hard work all throughout the semester. These included working with ESPNU Campus Connection, being a contributing writer for an online magazine, internships, and dancing jobs. You will be amazed at how often you can push yourself beyond what you believe you are capable of and great results will follow!