Winter break was a time of relaxation and relief from a tough fall semester. While we couldn’t travel and see family for the holidays, my family and I still made the most of our time off. I continued to work with the First-Year Fellows, and we organized some amazing programs over the winter to stay engaged with the Honors community while on break. I also participated in the E-52 virtual production of Check Please! directed by Heidi Fliegelman and Christine Marchesano.
But if you’re anything like me, you probably spent most of the winter break sleeping in, playing with pets, and living a mostly unstructured life. I didn’t take any winter courses, which left me no choice but to play Animal Crossing and nap on the couch with my dog. Suffice to say, I haven’t exactly been disciplined in keeping a routine as of late, which was slightly problematic as the Spring semester rapidly approached.
As a freshman who attended school from my hometown in the Fall, this was my first time moving to campus. Much to my parents’ chagrin, this meant that the corner of our living room became home to a teetering pile of my belongings ready to be packed into the car and driven up to Delaware. Making lists and packing for the Spring semester was the first step of snapping myself back to the looming reality of starting classes again. It created an “Oh, this is really happening” moment when I stared at my suitcase that I had meticulously packed my life into, and it clicked that I had to return to stress and all-nighters in two weeks.
Since then, I’ve attempted to incorporate more normalcy into my life in preparation for campus life. This means no more staying up all night and sleeping in until 11:00 in the morning “for fun”, taking naps at three in the afternoon, or watching Netflix like it’s my job.
The next step for me was to dive into preparing for the semester academically. Ordering overpriced textbooks from the bookstore and checking Canvas for class updates were a must for me to get into the right mindset. I also began organizing all of my school supplies from last semester and recovering the state of disarray that I left my desk in during finals week, which led to finishing up preparing for the campus move. I hadn’t expected it to be so hard to narrow down what was worth taking to campus, and I’m certain I forgot multiple things despite my careful planning and packing lists.
My last tactic for getting into the right mindset for the Spring semester was setting goals and establishing organizational habits that would motivate me throughout the semester. I set up my planner and outlined goals for each of my classes and the RSOs that I’m involved in. One of my favorite goals was to read more for pleasure during the semester, which I am happily achieving through the Honors book club, “Too Long; Didn’t Read”.
Getting ready for the Spring semester led to a lot of reflection on the organizations that I am a part of, the relationships I want to forge, and my goals for my first year of college. I don’t know everything that’s going to happen this semester, but I can’t wait to experience student life on campus and find out!
