If you’ve reached that point in the semester where your motivation has started to decrease, your homesickness is at an all-time high, and your mood is generally all over the place, then you may have hit the second semester slump.
This comes as no surprise considering you’ve just spent five weeks at home. You’ve had no homework and limited responsibilities. Around the third week of being home, though, you start to miss the late-night cram sessions with friends, midnight snacking, and everything that college life entails. Once you get back to school you jump right into your classes, excited to start fresh and intent on staying true to your New Year’s resolutions, but quickly stress and homesickness can set in and put a damper on the expectations you set for yourself. Soon, just getting one assignment done can feel like a huge burden.
As the stress to get work done, maintain healthy eating habits, and get enough sleep start to weigh down on you, you may feel yourself getting overwhelmed. All of the pressure weighing down on you is bound to affect your mood and it’s not uncommon to experience more homesickness than you’ve experienced before.
Additionally, you might not want to go out as much or socialize with people. It’s important to remember that you never have to apologize for feeling this way…
The best way to combat the second semester slump is to think about what is most important to you. This means that some of your resolutions may have to be put on the back burner while you’re trying to sort through your life. The most important thing to remember is that you are never alone. Reach out to friends or family members if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your life; just talking to someone about what is going may be the best thing to get you through this.
I promise that you are going to get through this. Things will get back on track, and you will start to feel like yourself again. It just takes a little time.