Next Semester Jitters

​​Before I begin, let me just say that it is only by the grace of God that I survived my first year of college. I’m not meaning this in a bad way (it was actually a great year), but there are definitely some things that I want to keep in mind as I continue into five months of partial living hell and paradise. The paradise part has always been easy for me, because I’m the type of person who gets excited about going “back to school.” I am reminded that within the next few weeks, I’ll be roaming the halls with all of my old friends, only this time I’ll be way cooler and more popular (or not). My weekends will be filled with crazy parties (or Netflix binge-watching marathons) and I’ll be one year closer to graduating and entering the “real world” (I have mixed feelings about that one). This being said, I still have next semester jitters and have compiled up three simple ideas pertaining to little things I should remind myself as the upcoming semester approaches.

The first thing that I definitely need to remind myself is that preparation is key. Yes, I need to make sure that I have all of my school supplies ready and I need to make sure to have all of my textbooks BEFORE the professor decides to assign homework on the first day (that really should be illegal), but I’m talking more along the lines of MENTAL preparation. When I say mental preparation, I mean prepare to love the first two weeks of school, and then fall into the “I think I’m going to sleep rather than do this assignment/Why do I even need to get a degree?/I think I’ll just move to Arendelle & build snowmen with Princess Anna and Queen Elsa” mind trap that I fall into after I realize that school involves actual WORK. I need to know that this mind set will come within the first month, so remembering to have my Starbucks card ready to swipe and major self-motivation to be on stand-by will be crucial. If I prepare for this major mind-blowing moment now, I can rest assured knowing that it’s happened before and I’ve survived.

The second thing that I need to keep in the back of my head is that the classes I will be taking will only be as good as I make them out to be. If I drag myself into my 8:30 am Biology lab with a glare of hatred written on my face as I sit down dreading the next 3 hours and 30 minutes, it’s not going to be a delightful semester. Not only will it be harder to learn and/or retain any information, I’ll have felt like I wasted my money on a class that could’ve been enjoyable. Whereas if I waltzed (okay, maybe not waltzed-it’s still an 8:30 am class) into my Biology Lab with a grin on my face connected to an enthusiastic attitude to learn something that I’ll probably NEVER have the opportunity to experience again, it’ll be so much more enjoyable and (more than likely) easier to learn. I guess I just need to remind myself that having the opportunity to learn and grow is a blessing and one that I should never take for granted.

Finally, the third and last thing that I will definitely need to remind myself is that this is a brand new semester. Any mistakes I made last semester are gone in the past. It’s time to forgive myself for failing that French exam (or French exams) and know that this semester will be filled with more accomplishments than failures, and more good times than bad. I won’t sit here and say that I’ll be a completely changed person, because I know that I will still procrastinate some nights and I’ll still embarrass myself in front of many, many cute guys (hey-that’s just a given). But I will say that I’ll be older, wiser, and better than last semester’s me, because as much as I hate to admit it, I’m growing up and I couldn’t be happier about all of the wonderful things that I will accomplish in both this upcoming semester and in the future. Sure, I’ll be filled with “jitters” and “butterflies,” when the big first day of school comes, but it will be because I’ll be excited for what’s ahead and not dwelling on last semester.

Whether you are filled with joy, excitement, disgust, or even “jitters,” I hope that this semester will be the best one yet! May we all remember to prepare for what’s ahead, but enjoy the moments we are given and go into this semester with not only a fresh new tan, but a fresh new attitude that is ready to kick butt and show this world what we can accomplish.