Submitted by Zachary Shulman on the 2019 fall semester DIS program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
It’s that time of the semester once again; tests, papers, and projects are all coming together in a perfect storm. I have two papers, a distant presentation, and precursors to my midterms to budget for, and it is usually at this point in the semester when school is at the forefront of my schedule. During my time in college, however, I have abided by the invaluable advice of almost every professor I have had; form a study group.
As the stress of the semester builds, it can be easy to succumb to homesickness, feelings of social isolation and loneliness, and a desire to just take a break from the hecticness. Fortunately, you are not alone. The best way I have found to alleviate these feelings is to find a couple of peers in your classes with whom you think you can work well. Meet up every week or so and go over the material. Don’t worry about imposing or not being close enough with them; there will be plenty of time to get closer while you cram for tests and projects together.
It can sometimes feel, at least in my experience, that the first two or three weeks of the semester is exclusively the time for making new friends in your classes. The longer you wait, the more awkward it can seem to make an introduction, right? Wrong. There is never a bad time to reach out to your fellow students and invite them to sit down with you and study together. There are few methods of learning information more effective than discussing them out loud with other people. Not only are you able to hear the perspectives and interpretations of other minds, but you have the chance to teach something you understood that another student may be struggling to understand.
If you are like me, it can be very hard to find the balance between your social and academic lives. You may want to skip some homework to go hang out with friends. Conversely, you may want to blow off a weekend trip to make some more progress on your big project or paper. Unfortunately, there is no standard rulebook for finding this balance. Some days you may be able to afford taking the time away from the books and blow off some steam. Other times you will have to reject the allure of a study break with friends to complete an assignment that will eat up a healthy chunk of time. That is why I am such an ardent proponent of study groups. Merge your social and academic lives, and you will find the balance working itself out.
