Second Semester Reflection

Second Semester Reflection.

Yeah, you read that correctly. Second semester is over. And friends, it was a time.

Second semester came with more classes, more doctor’s appointments than my first semester, and a lot more time spent with friends. (I have friends mom, aren’t you proud?)

I met more people and I went on more adventures. And it makes me even more excited for next semester! But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at the last four months.

Second Semester by the Numbers:

Length of semester: 15 weeks

Courses completed: 4

Sports games attended: 2

Times I was carried back to my room bc POTS was just not having it: at least 4

Bags of microwave popcorn consumed: 20

Trips to Target: 2

Museum trips: 1

Times it Snowed: More than I can remember

Trips to the Mall: 1

Uber’s Taken: 4

All nighter’s pulled: 0 (I’m pretty proud of that)

Blog posts published: not nearly as many as I would have liked (aka 7, the same amount as last semester)

• 2017 Reflection: the Good, the Bad, and Everything in Between
• February Holidays and January Wrap Up
• 5 Things to Keep in Mind When Midterms Come Around
• Reflection: Things I Did Over Winter Break
• Day in My Life: College Snow Day
• April Holidays and March Wrap Up
• What I Eat in a Week: Dairy and Gluten Free College Dining Hall Edition

Other Happenings This Semester (in no particular order):

My friends and I found pajamas on clearance for $6 from Target, and ordered them. So yes, my friends and I have matching pajamas. We regret nothing.

There was an issue in getting the pajamas order, and said friends recorded me pacing the front porch of one of the main buildings on campus while on the phone with Target looking like an “angry mom,” or so I’m told.

I ate as many cups of crab soup as I possibly could. Its amazing.

I went to an observatory on a nearby campus for my astronomy class. I hope to be heading back next semester, it was so cool! And free, perfect for my college student budget.

I stayed on top of my work on snow days, and got to have a marathon of the Goldberg’s AND watch Wonder Woman. You can read all about a day in the life when college shuts down for a blizzard here.

I started watching the Mindy Project. It provided some much-needed comic relief this semester.

I wore a 30 day heart monitor for my cardiologist and tried really hard not to let my wires get caught on things. Easier said then done.

A friend had a midnight to 4 am shift the night we got off for Spring Break and I stayed up with her for it. She sits at the front desk of our residence hall and swipes people in, so we watched shows and talked all night.

I finally made plans with someone I’d been talking to about hanging out with last semester, and we became good friends.

I gave salt and vinegar chips another try, and was pleasantly surprised. Turns out, I’m a huge fan now. Don’t tell fourth grade me, I would’ve looked at you like you had three heads.

I watched a lacrosse game in the snow.

I went to one of my professors houses with my class. We ate barbecue and played Pictionary and it was way more fun than it probably sounds.

The flu found me, and I had to spend eight days at home, totally useless with an incredibly high fever. I missed 6 days of class, during midterms, and I would not recommend that to anyone. As a result I had to drop a class, because playing catch up was impossible.

I went to my university’s end of year festival, and had a blast. I can’t even remember the name of the performer, because they weren’t someone I listen to (when it was announced my reaction was “Who???”), but had a good time all the same! It was a great opportunity to take photos with friends as pretty much everyone was on the quad, even though it was a bit cold.

My friends found a tulip garden, and we went there to relax for a bit after finals! It was a nice break from packing, and the flowers were beautiful.

I tried the pink drink from Starbucks. Still not sure if pink drink should be capitalized or not. If you know, please let me know in the comments. It’s really starting to frustrate me, and I’ve only ever had one.

I went to a “fair” and learned that it’s one thing to try to make sand art without messing it up, and another thing to try to transport said sand art back across campus.

My friends and I tried to do a birthday surprise for a girl in our friend group and it went horribly wrong. I am no longer interested in trying to surprise people for their birthdays. That nightmare has convinced me that surprises are bad.

I went to breakfast at 8 am with my friends one Sunday, and walked back to campus afterwards in the wind and rain. A good meal, and a fun time, despite the weather and earliness of it all.

My friends and I did a brief end of year photo shoot on the quad before we began to part ways for the summer. It resulted in some true gems, and I’m grateful that we had the opportunity for some great group photos.

I went to an event that had a photographer and a green screen. One of my friends asked if they could make our background Danny DeVito. They could. And they did.

I made my friends watch the Kentucky Derby with me. They didn’t hate it.

I got to go have a cupcake from a cute little dairy free and gluten-free bakery not too far from campus. While I was there I also tried kombucha for the first time!

I tried bubble tea for the first time, and I liked it! Finally, I understand what all the hype is about.

One of my friends and I made popcorn and watched the NFL draft on my laptop while studying for finals.

Said friend and I also watched most of the NHL playoff games together while we were still on campus.

I ate a lot of tater tots.

I declared my major!

And last but not least…

I got a job! The whole process started with applications last semester, interviews were in January, and a few weeks later I was offered a position as a Resident Assistant at my university for this coming academic year! I was placed with first year students and I am so excited! This means my summer will be cut short and I’ll be heading back to campus mid-August for pre-fall training. But I’m not complaining!

How did those second semester goals go?

If you recall this post about my second semester goals, I had eight goals for this semester. These fell into three categories: things I wanted to continue doing, changes I wanted to make, and habits I wanted to build.

The three things I wanted to continue doing that I felt contributed to my success first semester were:

• talking to my professors
• going to office hours
• prioritizing my health

I would like to think I can confidently say I accomplished all three of these things this semester.

Some professors were more available and open to speaking with and helping their students then others, but the ones who were I made sure to go to. Sometimes I had to make decisions this semester that may be viewed as detrimental to my academics. I still missed class some days, couldn’t attend events I had hoped to, and didn’t study as long as I wanted for everything. In the end though, these decisions were made for my health, or because or it, and I do not regret them.

There’s no use in even attempting to go to class or get work done if I have a migraine that is so intense I’m laying in a dark room and can’t even open my eyes! That would benefit no one. Prioritizing my health is vital to my ability to succeed in college and I am happy to have a system in place that works for me.

Three changes I wanted to make:

• organizing my time more stringently
• reaching out to people in my classes
• eat all the tater tots without fear of judgement

I definitely got into a groove with time organization this semester. I spent less time studying, but I think the time I did spend was more effective because I knew what worked and what didn’t after a lot of trial and error last semester.

Reaching out to people in my classes is a bit of a different story. Fun fact: when you don’t actually get any time to talk to the people in your classes and it’s a stressful environment, people aren’t really that inclined to chit-chat. I did end up working with some people from a couple of my classes outside of class, but it mainly consisted of us sending each other notes and homework questions, or studying together once or twice.

Class doesn’t really seem to be a great place to meet people, despite what others may say. In my experience, and my close friend’s experience, we all seem to hang out more with people we meet elsewhere. The people I met and started hanging out with this semester who I hadn’t previously were all either people I bumped into at some point, talked to in line waiting for food in the dining hall, or had met through other friends.

So reaching out to people in my classes: I did it, but it’s not something I’m going to really go after in the future.

Oh yes, my tater tot goal. Last semester I wasn’t a huge fan of the looks I would sometimes get from those behind me in line (or around me) when I would get tater tots on Tater Tot Tuesday. This semester, I decided – no more! I will get however many tater tots I want and I will not make my decisions based on the feelings of those around me. It probably helped (a lot) that I ate with my friends this semester for dinner, when the dining hall is self-serve. We would stand in line together (power in numbers), and often just would get one plate and fill it with tots to share, going back to get a refill whenever necessary. I felt no shame with the mountain of tots I would bring back to our table so I’d say this goal was achieved.

Two habits I wanted to build:

• wake up at the same time everyday
• keep up with my to do list

I can tell you that beyond a question of a doubt the whole sleep habit thing really worked. By the end of the semester even if I wanted to sleep in, I couldn’t stay asleep past nine. I typically woke up around 7:30 am, and even on the days I tried really hard to fall back to sleep, it wouldn’t happen. So waking up within a certain time frame everyday this semester? Success. With the exception of migraine days.

Keeping up with my to do list was a bit more interesting, but I was a lot better at it this semester. By keeping up with my to do list, I mean using it and updating it all the time, and not just when I’m starting to feel overwhelmed. This definitely contributed to my efficiency this semester!

Overall?

This semester was a ride. I wouldn’t say I was unprepared for it, but it was a lot different from my first semester. I spent more time with people, and less studying, but I still did well and maintained my grades. Last semester I spent my evenings mostly doing homework, and would go grab some food whenever I felt I should take a break. I’d get it to go, and come back to my room and study some more while I ate. Did I master the material? You bet. Did it help with socializing? Absolutely not. This semester I gave up about an hour of my nights to go to dinner with my friends. Every night, without fail, excluding the times I was too unwell to leave my room (shout out to migraines, amongst my other illnesses), I would go grab food with at least one of my friends.

I built the habits I wanted to, I achieved the goals I set for myself, and I enjoyed the time I had with the people I was with. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

Now it’s time to relax, kick back, and bask in the glory of summer. To keep up with more of my day-to-day, you can always find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter as @andpajamas!