A very busy semester

Bella Lee, Staff Writer

Well, we’re already at the halfway point of the semester. It feels like yesterday that we were just starting up, and now we have Advising Day and Graduation looming on the horizon. As for COVID-19, we’re almost completely back to normal, with no masks required except for in the classrooms in labs, so that’s a relief. However, I don’t think the stress has gotten any easier to manage, especially since this is our fourth full semester in a pandemic.

For one, I have an absolutely loaded schedule. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I have four classes back to back. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I only have one class, but surrounding that is homework and meetings.On top of this, I just started a new job at the 501 Grille, so on Wednesday through Friday, I am running nonstop from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with my only break being for lunch. The weekends aren’t much better, since that time is reserved for finishing any homework that hadn’t been completed during the week and studying for any upcoming tests.

I’ve had to give up many extracurricular activities to fulfill my other work, such as the many clubs I’m involved in, but there’s still other commitments, such as the spring musical, that take up my time as well. Even during spring break, I barely felt like I had an actual break. A few of my classes had assignments due the first day back, so I had to worry about those. Even when my mom traveled to see me for the weekend, I had to spend some of that time working on assignments.

Fortunately, it’s not all gloom and doom. I’m doing well in all my classes and have gotten good grades on everything I’ve turned in so far. I did super well on all my midterms, which was one of my main concerns at the beginning because the professors I had midterms for I’ve struggled with in the past. I even got my first A and first 100% on two midterm essays, both for a professor whose essays I’ve never gotten higher than a B+ on. I’m making plenty of new friends and I’m strengthening the bonds I already had with my older friends. As the saying goes, you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.

Even with all the good things that are going on, unfortunately I feel like the bad is outweighing the good. The only normal semester I’ve had during my time here was my first semester freshman year, and even that was overwhelming due to being new to college and other commitments. Ever since the pandemic derailed our lives, I have been suffering from extreme burnout after every semester and I’m already exhausted from this semester. We students could really use a break, and an ACTUAL break too. One where we don’t have to worry about upcoming assignments or tests that are due right when we return. I want a break where I don’t have to worry about anything, and I’m sure most will agree with me.