By Hannah Mason, Assistant Editor
Often, as college students, our month-long winter break is spent enjoying family and holidays, relaxation, and if not a physical vacation, then at least a mental one.
And when the Near Year arrives, we make all kinds of goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. Even if we don’t number our goals on a list, we all have things we’re hoping for as we hang up the 2015 calendar. We all wish for a year better, in some way, than the one before. Maybe you’re hoping for a good job for the summer or for after May graduation, or for better relationships, or for higher grades, or for simply some better luck in general than you had last year. We all want something to be new or better—ourselves, our grade point averages, our bank accounts, whatever.
Unfortunately, motivation only lasts so long. If our resolutions were simple and easy, we’d have done them by now. Those hopes and wishes that come with the fresh, clean calendar on January 1 quickly get overwritten by reality and the day-to-day turmoil, especially once the spring semester picks up for college students.
So, here are a few ideas for some Back-to-School Resolutions you can do the first week back, to set yourself up for a better semester before your motivation gets buried by snow and schoolwork:
- Try something new. It’s more than easy to get back into the same old school routine, and the spring semester quickly becomes little more than a continuation of the fall semester. Make it a point in the first week or so to consciously try something you’ve been meaning to do. Whether you’re aiming to join a campus club or organization, start a fitness routine, or simply meet some new people, don’t put off your goals until you forget about them.
- Get organized. Again, it’s easier to just slip back into the old disarray from last semester, but start off 2015 right by spending some time the first week, before the semester really gets going, organize yourself and your class materials. Get a daily planner and start writing down your assignment due dates in advance, and figure out how much time and what supplies and books will be needed for each class early on.
- Give something up. During the winter break, we usually have more free time for fun stuff to fill in the gaps where school used to be, like social media, Netflix shows, or addicting smartphone games. Whatever your weakness is, make a valiant effort before midterms and finals to give up or limit your usage of one of those entertainments which take our focus away from our schoolwork.
- Get excited. The usual sparkly newness of a new semester only lasts a few days at best, so make a decision to get excited about (or at least interested in) this thing called college you’ve signed up for before the semester even begins. Yeah, college sports and social life are fun and exciting, but since your classes are the reason why you get to be here and enjoy the fun side of college to begin with, get invested in them and make them count. Rather than promising yourself a certain grade in a class, try letting your nerdy side show and get excited about what you’re studying.