While the process has been hard to adapt to, I feel confident in my ability to finish out the rest of the semester strong.
An 18-credit semester. For many, it comes for you at some point in your college career. Whether it’s cramming to graduate early (or on time), accommodating multiple majors or challenging yourself academically, the courses seem to be a lot harder than what you expected when you meticulously planned out your classes and enrolled in them. For me, it was a combination of all three. In planning to go abroad next semester, which is something that I absolutely can’t wait for, I wanted to make sure that doing so wouldn’t set me behind in my plan to graduate in a year and a half – which is so scary to think about right now.
Last spring, I signed up for a course load that mixes all of my areas of study: journalism, English and public policy. What I didn’t realize when I was signing up for these classes is that I was signing up for a load of classes filled with readings, readings and more readings. And you might say that as a journalism and English major, I should have anticipated this, and you would be right. But the combination of reading-heavy classes with the sheer number of classes is just a mix that I have never experienced before. I have had classes where there is a ton of reading required, but never so many of these at the same time. Also, as I continue in my college career and begin to really sink my teeth into my areas of study, adjusting to the higher intensity of these classes has been a challenge as well. These classes have challenged me in ways that I didn’t really think were possible.
At first, I had a lot of doubts about taking such a high number of credits. I was nervous about my ability to even finish out the semester, and I doubted my own intellect. As the semester has gone on, though, I’ve realized that as long as I am confident in myself and my ability to get work done on time, it will all end up working out. Sometimes I need more of a push to get stuff done and go to all of my classes, but I realize that I’m here to get an education and that stressing out about my ability to be perfect is unreasonable. It’s OK to have off days and doing so will just help me get back on track when I’m feeling a little lost.
In addition to this demanding course load, there have been a lot of additional factors that have increased my stress levels alongside my classes, such as balancing a tight budget in preparation for my semester abroad, applying for internships and figuring out how to live with five other girls in one house.
Adjusting to a new living situation is never easy, and doing that while trying to manage relationships with five other people also adjusting is pretty tough. The biggest thing that I have learned since moving in has definitely been to not let the little things stress me out and remind myself of the positives about being so lucky to be constantly surrounded by girls that I love.
Now, as I get to the midway point in the semester, things are definitely starting to look better. I have gotten used to an intense but effective reading calendar, which helps me manage my time. I’m not spending hours the day before a reading trying to skim through the novel, textbook or play without really grasping what I am reading. Sticking to this kind of schedule has also helped me manage my other work really effectively.
Now that I have gotten into the groove of managing my time and work, 18 credits is definitely more manageable. I’d love to say that it’s easy now, but it is still pretty hard at times, especially with trying to manage activities and plans with my friends outside of my schoolwork. It can be rough at times, but I always feel so good when I’m able to get things done.