Hello hello!
It’s ‘9:33 pm Cecilia’ here, doing some editing! I wrote the majority of this blog at 9:30 in the morning after getting 6 hours of sleep, so it’s safe to say my mood has improved considerably from this morning (that endorphin hit from getting a bit of exercise really boosts you up!). I’ll be honest. The blog I wrote before is a bit gloomy, but I reckon it’s still neat in its own way and really captures what it feels like to be hitting a low. It’s only human to feel down sometimes and I know that now is a common time for people to start feeling a bit rough, so I hope this blog can resonate with you too.
So, let’s go!
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Before I start, there’s something I’d like to clear up, the reason I used the word ‘jump’ in the title was because the ‘jump between first to second year’ has a nice ring to it. To be honest, the more accurate term would be ‘leap of faith, followed by desperate scrabbling and clinging on for dear life’. Three weeks into the semester, I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed in my life, its week six now and I’ve just finished my last test before the mid-sem break, I can honestly say that the stress has stayed with me. At this point, I’ve just accepted the fact that this stress will never go away. Being a university student means you either sink or swim, learn to cope with the stress or drown in it. I’ve embraced life at this heightened level of anxiety and you should too. Mic drop. End of blog.
– Cecilia
Naw, who am I kidding, I would never leave you guys hanging with a 139-word piece. I’m sounding a little grim there but by the next blog/vlog you’ll have happy-go-lucky Cecilia back again! Slightly stressed Cecilia is here for this blog though and she’ll do a better job explaining what got her into this funk:
Assignments, labs, quizzes and tests.
I can’t speak for every degree/specialisation/major out there, but there’s a noticeable increase in the amount of work due from each of my subjects. I started to write about each of my subjects and what they have in store, but it got really long and had the makings of another blog, so let’s save that for another day 😉. Long story short, I would say that the amount of assignments, labs, quizzes and tests set for us have doubled, and their difficulties have definitely doubled as well. Such fun!
Take me back to summer T T
Juggling extra-curriculars and life outside the classroom.
I was talking to my friend after our test yesterday and she mentioned how over the past few weeks we didn’t have a life outside the classroom. I disagreed. We did have a life outside the classroom, a life in our bedrooms dedicated to doing coursework and studying for upcoming tests. The only socialising I did in the past four weeks, was talking to my friends before/after class, and going on grocery shopping runs with a mate, which sadly was once even the highlight of my week. In hindsight, I should’ve gone for more walks/hit the gym more often as my mood would’ve no doubt improved.
Found time to visit just once </3
In terms of extra-curriculars, I’m a person who loves getting involved and signing up for clubs, events, volunteering roles etc. (yes, I know 🙄🙄🙄) but having been so busy lately, I’ve been less active and less involved than I would’ve liked. It physically pained me when I had to cut back on my commitments as it felt like I was letting people down (even though they’re probably did just fine without me 🙁) Sometimes, there were unavoidable commitments which at the time, felt like a huge burden hacking away at my time. The thought ‘a second spent fulfilling these commitments, is a second spent not studying’, had often crossed my mind. What helped me get back on track was thinking of the reasons why I signed up in the first place, how much I genuinely loved taking part, and keeping in mind that, ‘a second spent stressing over time lost, is a second spent not studying’. It’s a sunk cost guys, you can’t get it back so don’t waste your time, mourning lost time.
The past is in your head, ice cream the future is in your hands
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’11:40 am the next day Cecilia’ here! I just realised I’ve reached an all-time high in the amount I’ve written (about double the suggested word limit). It’s like those news stories about adopting puppies who grow into full sized wolves (but in a good way of course 😉). Anyways, I’ve decided to split this blog into two and you’ve got to check out the second part! I’ll be talking about how to cope in a cohort full of smart people and the various pros of being a second-year student (the first part has been quite con filled…)!
See: https://www.theinsideword.ac.nz/2019/04/jump-from-first-to-second-year/
– Cecilia x