New Semester, New Me!

The sun is shining! Campus is booming with happy, refreshed, excited faces! Chatter fills the air as old friends reunite and new friendships are formed in busy lecture halls. Yup, a new semester has started and with that comes so much opportunity. For upperclassmen, the opportunity is to reflect on the wins and failures of past semesters and start fresh with the awareness of how to be even better, more successful and balanced versions of ourselves. So, I asked a few upperclassmen what they wish they could do differently this semester to start off the school year right and compiled their answers. Hopefully other students and even prospective students about to start college can learn from our experiences!

Following a 9-to-5 lifestyle

This summer I had an amazing internship experience working in industry. It was an incredibly different environment and lifestyle compared to college, and it taught me so much about work-life balance. I worked 9 hour days (with breaks for lunch and plenty of coffee of course!) that were quite dynamic. I was constantly running around doing either hands-on work in the lab, going to team meetings online and in-person, or tracking down coworkers for support and information. In my downtime, I would sit at my desk, listen to some music and chug away at my individual assignments or prepare for the meetings ahead. Around 5/5:30ish, I would power down my monitors and head out with my coworkers– interns and full-time employees alike. On our way out, we discussed our plans for the evening or weekend to decompress through being active, exploring new places or just doing nothing. I absolutely loved this lifestyle and the lack of pressure to be productive outside of working hours. However, there were times when I had to sacrifice my personal times to ensure I was putting my best foot forward in my internship. 

Since being back, I’ve been trying to implement those habits in my college routine. Even if I don’t have early classes, I try to wake up early and get started on my work. From 9 to 5, I try to be productive between classes, schedule time with classmates to complete homework collaboratively or use office hours to catch up on material. Generally, classes at Purdue end around 5:30 pm and by that time I try to wrap up all of my work. I use that time to hang out with friends, go to the gym or get involved in fun extracurriculars. This is definitely easier said than done and I don't always succeed, but it has helped me be even more productive during the day and maintain my mental health!

Taking breaks

While I preach work-life balance, I also understand that when students are balancing multiple classes, extracurriculars and professional development tasks, it’s not always easy to maintain. When a big essay or evening exam pops up, the anxiety of the upcoming deadline sometimes drives us to camp out for hours in a library, skip meals or sacrifice some sleep. Practices like this can easily lead to burnout and be harmful to physical and mental health. This semester, we all hope to make an active effort to go easy on our minds and bodies and give ourselves some breaks!

Making use of my textbooks

Every semester, for most of my classes, we are asked to buy textbooks or get online access to one. Professors often assign readings or problem sets from the textbooks between lectures to help students stay on track with the material, but might not hold us accountable with a homework check or quiz. Some of us will admit to being guilty of ignoring these assignments because they don’t directly affect our grades. But, later in the semester, we find ourselves falling behind as lecture material and homework problems get more complex. So, this semester, we are going to try to take advantage of such an important resource. 

Making friends in each of my classes

Apart from a textbook, another great resource in your classes could be the people around you! When you’re in a huge lecture hall with tens or hundreds of new faces, it can be intimidating to introduce yourself. In the past, if the class wasn’t that interactive, we’ve definitely gotten by with not talking to the people around us and rushing out of the lecture hall as soon as the class ends. However, going through a course completely alone can get overwhelming when trying to study or complete homework during off-hours when there’s no access to the professor or TAs. These are the times we wish we could have a friend who understands the struggle and can help us out with just a quick text or phone call. Even beyond those desperate moments, friends from class are great to do homework or study for exams with because bouncing ideas off each other and talking through the concepts we heard about in class definitely helps the material stick in our brain better. 

Following routines for work, gym and sleep

    Routine! Routine is so important in college where our entire schedule is basically up to us. Other than the lectures and labs we have scheduled during the weekdays, we decide when we went to study, eat, sleep and relax. In order to keep our lives organized and maintain good mental health, it's important to have a routine and have a method of keeping track of that routine. Not just a routine for school but also routines for important aspects of our lives like staying active, socializing and getting sleep. If you want to know how we try to maintain consistent routines, check out next week's blog about our tips and tricks!

Aikya Chirra, BME '23

WE Link Leadership Team

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