There is something about September that makes everyone feel like they need to become a completely different person.
A new semester means a new schedule, new classes, new clothes, new routines, new goals, new friends and, apparently, a new personality. Your TikTok feed is suddenly filled with “ reset” videos, Pinterest boards are full of morning routines, and everyone seems to be waking up at 6 a.m. to journal, work out and make it to an 8 a.m. lecture.
And for a second, it feels motivating.
Maybe this will finally be the semester I become a morning person. Maybe I’ll join more clubs. Maybe I’ll finally get my life together.
Then September actually starts.
Your alarm goes off and you hit snooze. Your first assignment is due. Your laundry is piling up. Your calendar already has three overlapping commitments. Suddenly, the perfect routine you planned during the first week feels impossible.
And instead of realizing that you’re simply human, you feel like you’ve failed your “reset.”
I love the feeling of a fresh start. But somewhere along the way, a fresh start became a requirement.
We’re constantly encouraged to improve our grades, appearance, social lives, fitness routines, careers and productivity. Social media makes it even easier to compare ourselves to people who seem to have everything together.
But we’re seeing their highlight reel while experiencing the behind-the-scenes version of our own lives.
One of the strangest things about a new semester is how quickly we convince ourselves that the version of us from last semester wasn’t good enough.
But what if she was?
Maybe you don’t need to join five new organizations. Maybe the two you’re already involved in are enough. Maybe you don’t need to wake up at 6 a.m. if you’re happier waking up at 8. Maybe you don’t need the perfect routine, social life, grades and career plan all at once.
Maybe you just need to get through Tuesday.
There’s nothing wrong with having goals or wanting to grow. But growth doesn’t have to mean completely reinventing yourself.
Sometimes a reset is cleaning your room. Sometimes it’s going to bed early. Sometimes it’s realizing that a goal you made in August doesn’t actually work for you anymore.
And sometimes, a reset is simply reminding yourself that you don’t have to become someone else to be proud of where you are.
September can be a fresh start without being a completely new you.
So if your “new semester, new me” lasted two weeks before falling apart, you’re probably doing just fine.
You don’t need to have your entire semester figured out.
You can just be you, with a slightly more organized Google Calendar.
There is something about September that makes everyone feel like they need to become a completely different person.
A new semester means a new schedule, new classes, new clothes, new routines, new goals, new friends and, apparently, a new personality. Your TikTok feed is suddenly filled with “ reset” videos, Pinterest boards are full of morning routines, and everyone seems to be waking up at 6 a.m. to journal, work out and make it to an 8 a.m. lecture.
And for a second, it feels motivating.
Maybe this will finally be the semester I become a morning person. Maybe I’ll join more clubs. Maybe I’ll finally get my life together.
Then September actually starts.
Your alarm goes off and you hit snooze. Your first assignment is due. Your laundry is piling up. Your calendar already has three overlapping commitments. Suddenly, the perfect routine you planned during the first week feels impossible.
And instead of realizing that you’re simply human, you feel like you’ve failed your “reset.”
I love the feeling of a fresh start. But somewhere along the way, a fresh start became a requirement.
We’re constantly encouraged to improve our grades, appearance, social lives, fitness routines, careers and productivity. Social media makes it even easier to compare ourselves to people who seem to have everything together.
But we’re seeing their highlight reel while experiencing the behind-the-scenes version of our own lives.
One of the strangest things about a new semester is how quickly we convince ourselves that the version of us from last semester wasn’t good enough.
But what if she was?
Maybe you don’t need to join five new organizations. Maybe the two you’re already involved in are enough. Maybe you don’t need to wake up at 6 a.m. if you’re happier waking up at 8. Maybe you don’t need the perfect routine, social life, grades and career plan all at once.
Maybe you just need to get through Tuesday.
There is nothing wrong with having goals or wanting to grow. But growth doesn’t have to mean completely reinventing yourself.
Sometimes a reset is cleaning your room. Sometimes it’s going to bed early. Sometimes it’s realizing that a goal you made in August doesn’t actually work for you anymore.
And sometimes, a reset is simply reminding yourself that you don’t have to become someone else to be proud of where you are.
September can be a fresh start without being a completely new you.
So if your “new semester, new me” lasted two weeks before falling apart, you’re probably doing just fine.
You don’t need to have your entire semester figured out.
You can just be you, with a slightly more organized Google Calendar.