Have Your Best Spring Semester!

The new year brings several things: new year’s resolutions, new looks, new attitudes, and new frame of minds.  For college students, it is also the start of a new semester!  This can fill us with excitement, dread, or a mixture of both.  There might even be some nerves that are mixed in, especially for us who are juniors and seniors, as our last few semesters mean everything for our futures.  While all of our grades are important, those who will hire us or admit us to graduate schools will mainly look at these grades to determine where we are academically.  Because every semester counts, I figured that for this article, I would give you my tips on how to make this your most successful spring semester yet! 

1.  Have a positive outlook.  The most important thing you can do for yourself this semester is to have a positive outlook on yourself and the semester.  Tell yourself that you are going to make this your best semester yet and that you can do anything you set your mind to.  Always try your best in everything that you do, and give yourself some encouragement!  If you have a positive attitude, this can transfer over to your work and you will be successful!

2.  Make a reward system for yourself.  This is something that can be different for each person.  Maybe you would rather be watching Netflix than reading about the Congressional Convention?  Watch one episode on Netflix and then read some in your book (ideally the amount of time you spent watching the episode on Netflix).  For something bigger, like exams, if you make the grade you want, treat yourself to a movie, dinner, or anything big that you love, but never get to do.  By having a reward system, you can have something to look forward to, which would hopefully inspire you to get your work done!  First come work, then play!

3.  Do your work!!!!  This sounds obvious; if you go to school, of course you should do your work.  This doesn’t apply to just doing your work; do your work in a timely manner to the best of your abilities.  Study for your tests and quizzes in order to do well on them!  This also sounds obvious, but you do not know how many times I hear people say that they would have done well if they had actually studied.  If you haven’t done well in the past on tests, shake up your study routine, because you might just need a new way of thinking.  If you don’t understand something, ask questions! 

I hope that this article has given you some tips on how to have your best spring semester!  Let me know if you have tried these tips and if they have worked for you.  Also let me know if you have any other tips on how to have a great semester.  My last few tips are: don’t freak out, know you can do anything, have faith in yourself, and remember to breathe!  Thank you so much for reading this article!