Another semester has begun and has brought along with it a myriad of emotions, goals and anxieties. As a junior, this is my third spring semester, and while it seems like I should have my routine down by now, I’m still struggling. After a long and relaxing winter break, many of us find ourselves struggling to get back into the habits we had worked up during the previous semester. We find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, burnt out or dreadful for the next four months to come, with many questioning why spring semester always feels worse than the fall.
As syllabus week comes to an end and schoolwork begins to pick up, I feel the burden of another long and dreadful spring semester beginning to weigh me down. While both semesters are about the same length, the spring semester feels more drawn out. University junior Summer Lewis agrees with this notion, stating that, “For some reason, September to December seems a lot more tolerable than January to May.” While many other students may agree, the spring semester is slightly shorter than the fall, as students are given a long break in the middle of the semester, unlike Thanksgiving break which only takes off two school days. Even with this in mind, many students do not feel the same eagerness to learn or engage on-campus as they do in the fall.
“Time seems to move exponentially slower,” Lewis says. In fact, it feels like time has been moving much slower over the last month. Many credit this to the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 as it affected not only the health and safety of people, but also their perception of time. I was 17 in 2020, when COVID first put everyone in lockdown. I am turning 21 this year and can’t help but feel as though the last four years of my life were taken from me way too soon. People on TikTok and the internet are calling this feeling the “2020 effect” and it is finally beginning to wear off. This phenomenon is used to describe how life during and post-COVID has seemed to go by quickly, and how the last three years have all felt like one big hazy warped mess. 2024 is the first year that many people have begun to feel normal again, and unfortunately for college students, that means a long and stressful spring semester.
Time is not the only thing bringing students down. For those of us that struggle with seasonal depression, the beginning of the spring semester is an indication that there are two months of cold weather and dark days we need to get through. And without wholesome holidays to help us cope, we are left to deal with the harsh weather conditions and the darkness that sets at 5:00 p.m.
While I could ramble on about the opinion’s students like me have about this current semester, it is better to find hope in what is to come with this new term. This semester is a very important one, not only for me, but for many other juniors as well. As I begin my pre-law journey by studying for the LSAT and touring law schools over spring break, I feel myself evolving not only as a student but also as a human being realizing they are one step closer to the goals they made when they were younger. For many seniors this semester is very bittersweet. As they begin getting their acceptances to grad schools and job offers and preparing for graduation they’re beginning to see the outcomes of the hard work they had put in over the last three years. University senior Christina Keller elaborates, “It’s a very bittersweet moment, knowing that everything I have worked for is finally at reach. But having to say goodbye to this place and the friends I made along the way is something I’m not prepared for.”
While this semester seems overwhelming and stressful now, knowing you have so much to look forward to is a great way to get through this dark period. Whether it’s spring break, warmer weather, longer days and shorter nights, graduation or end-of-the-year campus events, the spring semester is here and it’s ready for you to make the best of it.
