Re-adjusting to College Life at UMD
By Samantha Hooley
February 16, 2023
Image Credit: Alexa Williams for Unsplash
The transition back to college life after winter break looks different for everyone. Whether that’s adjusting to new classes and taking on new responsibilities, Greek life recruitment or even just finding downtime for yourself, it can be daunting heading into a new semester.
Over break, many students went to visit family and meet up with hometown friends. Emily Banh, a senior communications major, says along with spending time with family, she also traveled.
“My favorite thing I did over break was visit New York City for the day with one of my best friends.” Banh says they went to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center to see “the iconic tree.”
Other students, like Annalise Haywood, president of the Delta Gamma sorority and business management major, worked over break. “I didn’t have much time to myself,” Haywood said. The last week before she came back she said she took time for herself to relax by either taking a walk or going to the gym.
Prioritizing your physical and mental health is one of the best ways to readjust to college life, Haywood said. Ria Kapur, freshman criminology and criminal justice major, finds she needs to make time for many different things, including down time.
“When readjusting back into school routines, it’s normal to not follow it perfectly. Make time for everything then adjust from there,” said Kapur.
Haywood also suggests keeping a planner to stay on top of due dates and manage time. Banh recommends making a calendar. She personally uses Google Calendar. There are also stores to purchase hand-held planners like Target, Papier or if you want to splurge, Erin Condren also offers planners and other office supplies.
Kapur and Haywood have both found the first few weeks of classes to be manageable and not too hard of an adjustment. Haywood says preparing for recruitment and taking on new responsibilities is the hardest part of adjusting for her.
Banh finds adjusting to her new schedule to be a bit of a challenge. “I have four classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Banh said. “[They] are definitely long days for me, but on the bright side, I have Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays off. Even though I’m only taking four classes, the workload has been a lot but still manageable,” she says.
Re-adjusting back to college life can be new and unnerving, but keeping a planner, taking time for yourself and making time for your priorities are just a few ways that can help in tackling the semester head-on and staying organized.
Over break, many students went to visit family and meet up with hometown friends. Emily Banh, a senior communications major, says along with spending time with family, she also traveled.
“My favorite thing I did over break was visit New York City for the day with one of my best friends.” Banh says they went to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center to see “the iconic tree.”
Other students, like Annalise Haywood, president of the Delta Gamma sorority and business management major, worked over break. “I didn’t have much time to myself,” Haywood said. The last week before she came back she said she took time for herself to relax by either taking a walk or going to the gym.
Prioritizing your physical and mental health is one of the best ways to readjust to college life, Haywood said. Ria Kapur, freshman criminology and criminal justice major, finds she needs to make time for many different things, including down time.
“When readjusting back into school routines, it’s normal to not follow it perfectly. Make time for everything then adjust from there,” said Kapur.
Haywood also suggests keeping a planner to stay on top of due dates and manage time. Banh recommends making a calendar. She personally uses Google Calendar. There are also stores to purchase hand-held planners like Target, Papier or if you want to splurge, Erin Condren also offers planners and other office supplies.
Kapur and Haywood have both found the first few weeks of classes to be manageable and not too hard of an adjustment. Haywood says preparing for recruitment and taking on new responsibilities is the hardest part of adjusting for her.
Banh finds adjusting to her new schedule to be a bit of a challenge. “I have four classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Banh said. “[They] are definitely long days for me, but on the bright side, I have Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays off. Even though I’m only taking four classes, the workload has been a lot but still manageable,” she says.
Re-adjusting back to college life can be new and unnerving, but keeping a planner, taking time for yourself and making time for your priorities are just a few ways that can help in tackling the semester head-on and staying organized.