March is almost over, and the semester is nearing a close. This means that the end of semester blues of upon us. This is the state of depression you get into when you start to realize all that still has to be done before you can leave in May. Final projects, grades, the weather, everything is a contributing factor. Many of us, myself included, don’t know how to deal with it because we didn’t even know it existed. Well, that changes now.
Final projects and assignments are now coming up and the only real way to feel is flustered. Suddenly you are swamped with tons of reading to do, papers to write, and presentations to prepare for, all within four weeks. At the beginning of the semester those assignments didn’t seem so bad because you knew you had months to get them done, but now you are realizing that time is up. Firstly, know that you are not alone in your freak out.
Now, I suggest you get out that planner that you bought in the beginning of the year, but forgot to keep using in mid- January. Mark down when everything is due, so that nothing slips by you. It’s crunch time, and things might seem intense, but they aren’t impossible. Schedule office hours with your teachers for help on assignments that you are struggling with, because you’d be surprised how many of your classmates are in the same boat as you.
Another thing that tends to bring on the end of semester blues, are grades. At this point you have gotten your midterms and mid-semester grades back, and realize that you may not be doing as well as you thought in some classes. Know that there is time to fix this, too. It’s good to check the syllabus, and see what assignments remain. That way you know what you have to do well on, to help raise your grade. This is also another time when talking to your teacher comes in handy. They’ll be honest with you, telling you what you can do to improve. Who knows, you may not be doing as bad as you thought you were.
Lastly, nothing brings end of the semester blues on stronger than the weather. I mean, spring just won’t show up. Even though the official start of spring was last week, we are still experiencing the internal debate of what clothes to go outside in. Do I go outside in shorts or a winter jacket? Is 50 degrees cold? Every day is a tossup, but the worst part is that it’s still cold at all. I mean, it’s April for crying out loud. I should at least be able to retire the winter coat and gloves already! While I can’t make the weather warmer, I can say that worst of it is almost over. Warm days are coming soon, and when they do, all your stress won’t feel so bad. There’s something about the sun that just relaxes you, and I can’t wait to stop wearing all these layers!
The worst part of the end of semester blues is how it can make you feel about yourself. Intense stress can bring on self- doubt, causing you to believe that you can’t accomplish all of the things on your plate. To that, I say DON’T BELIEVE IT! You got this! Just breathe, organize, and get ready to buckle down to get through the worst of it. Good Luck!