Swing into Spring
Unlike high school, spring semester in college literally means starting new, often with a brand new set of courses. For me, new classes tend to cause more stress, requiring adaptation to different syllabi as well as textbooks that need to be printed or purchased, and read. Additionally, although classes have already begun, I am still in the process of sorting out my schedule, which makes getting back on track all the more difficult.
One of the tools I have found to be extremely helpful when planning out my weekly schedule is MyEdu.com. The scheduling application first asks which school you attend, then asks for class subject and number. The website has already gathered all the information, including instructor, location, and class time for you, so all you have to do is check one of the boxes to add it to the weekly schedule. Being able to physically see a color-coded map of time helps me stay on top of things.
Instead of having set meals every day, being back on campus means unlimited access to the dining halls, i.e., an infinite number of cookies and desserts. In order to stop myself from eating three cookies after each meal, I have to limit myself to, at most, one a day. During the first several weeks of each semester, the number of students at the gym is always unusually high. Everyone, me included, hopes to stay healthy before all those assignments pile on and hours of sleep plummets.
After a semester of uncertainty as to what extracurricular activities and clubs I wanted to join, I can now confidently say that I have some clarity. I plan on attending the spring semester organization fair to sign up for several clubs I look forward to spending the next few years participating in and look forward to volunteering for one of the Loyola4Chicago programs.
Getting into the swing of classes may be harder than I expected, but the excitement for the new semester pretty much cancels it out!
Image from: http://www-tc.pbs.org/about/media/about/cms_page_media/632/SPRING_004%20for%20about.jpg