After weeks at home, coming back to school for the Spring semester is either the best thing ever, or the most dreaded part of the year. Winter break is a time of refuge, a liminal space where time and obligations are no longer a concern.
Returning to Tallahassee in January has a distinctly different energy than your initial arrival in August. Instead of Florida sunshine, the city shivers and waits to see how long the cold will last. Classes start almost immediately, and syllabus after syllabus reminds you that, unlike the sprint of the Fall semester, the Spring semester is a marathon.
Through all the wintery dread, amazing things Tallahassee and FSU have to offer are ripe for discovery.
- Spring Back into Sports
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Even outside of college football season, there are still sports to follow in Tallahassee. At Florida State, men’s and women’s basketball continue through March, with home games played locally at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
The Seminole swim, tennis, track & field, and golf teams start picking up steam in February, giving us endless opportunities to support FSU student athletes. The points earned on Spear-It Rewards after attending these games are just a bonus for when the next fall comes around!
A bit closer to spring break, baseball and softball join the party, with softball opening the season with a home game against Samford on Feb. 5. Baseball season starts later in February, playing their home opener against James Madison University on Feb 13.
- New Year, New Connections
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No matter if New Year’s resolutions are your thing, the new year brings opportunities with new people, networks, and organizations. Just like in the Fall semester, organizations across campus are looking for new members. The Yoga Club, Campus Cat Club, and Women In Pre-Med are all proud FSU organizations looking to pad their ranks throughout the semester.
Creative Director of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) at FSU, Hannah Tranle, invites students to join throughout the semester. At the VSA, she unlearned much of the shame she previously felt about her culture; she wants to let everyone know that “VSA hosts many events, language learning lessons, our big/little program, and more that all are welcome to attend, not just people of Vietnamese origin.”
New classes and professors give everyone the opportunity to connect with people they’ve never met before. Even without the boundless optimism of the late first day of school we had in August, coming into classes in January is yet another opportunity to get your face in front of faculty and peers and form more genuine connections.
While much of our life in university revolves around the semester, other industries operate on different calendars. January often marks the opening of applications for opportunities in the new year, giving you chances to get your foot in the door early. Looking past the springtime, getting in quality applications early is key to staying ahead of the research and internship cycles for the rest of the year.
- Stay Warm, But Not Too Warm
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While true winter is a bit of a foreign concept for many of us here at FSU, there are some important things to remember when protecting your body, mind, and property from the chill. Winter at FSU is a sea of garnet, where the winter campus apparel comes out in full force. Every style of sweatshirt ever made covers almost every student for what feels like weeks on end, giving time to show off the true value of an $80 sweatshirt from the campus bookstore.
One unique aspect of Tallahassee winter is the temperature swing, where the morning temperature will sit just above freezing, but by noon, the temperature is in the 60s or even higher. Prepping for long days with lots of layers gives you the comfort you need on the trek to class, without keeping too much heat in.
The cold temperatures can also mess with our cars, and plants in the city. Make sure to leave time on early, cold mornings to warm up the car before you need to leave. Pets and plants may also need some extra care for these last months of winter.
- Stay Out on The Town
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There are many things to do around Tallahassee, no matter the temperature. The short days and cold winds make it difficult to find the motivation to leave the house, but social interaction and sunlight are key to making it through the tough times. Some of my favorite spots to hang out are places where I can sit right in front of a window and pretend that it’s not actually 40 degrees outside.
Indoor activities like movies, cafés, and local shops are still great places to go, especially when the night is still young. The sun setting before 6 p.m. can really put a damper on any plans that you want to make, but the sun doesn’t close the town. Even bathed in chill, Midtown Tallahassee hosts two of my favorite spots: Midtown Reader and Dear Sunday, all in one building. You could spend hours on each floor snacking and book shopping, then go back upstairs to snack again.
Early in January, making it to spring break seems like an impossible goal. Watching days pass by and tasks pile up can get super overwhelming, but staying connected to our town and our community is key to making our lives feel like sunshine.
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