Well it is the end of another semester for me in college, the first half of my junior year is over.

It is pretty surreal to think that I am more than halfway done, and I am pretty aware that the rest of my time here at the University of Richmond is going to fly by. But, this fall semester definitely took a toll on me, so I am focused on moving forward.

Freshman year is about adjusting and getting comfortable. Sophomore year is about enjoying that comfort. I expected Junior year to be an extension of Sophomore year: easy-going, fun, and exciting. It didn’t feel that way, though, and it was a lot harder on me than I anticipated.

After 2-years of constant academics, extracurriculars, and building my life here, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was.

It started to hit me going into October and I found myself getting sick ALL the time. I also was feeling somewhat of a relapse in my depression, which was a scary thing to notice again. All of a sudden it seemed, I was struggling to make classes and commitments. I was staying at home more and sleeping every spare minute. Everything I used to be able to do became work I was unmotivated to do.

But, reflecting on all of this as I have finished my finals, all I can do is look forward to next semester. A million reasons could account for this rough time in my college career, but I am deciding to leave them in the past. I have a lot I want to do, a lot of myself that I want to get back to in the new year and so I am focusing all of my energy on this fresh start.

So, I thought I’d share my plans with all of you because having a tough semester is definitely not just “a me problem.” It is totally common and instead of getting stuck on repeat, why not focus on a self-revival?

Steps for Reviving Yourself:

1. We have to ease into the revived version of who we wanna be. We can’t have unrealistic expectations for ourselves when developing a new routine may be challenging at first.
2. Let’s define how we want to improve ourselves in the new semester and revisit it. What do I want to change? What goals would make me happy to achieve and how can I work to achieve them? Think about academics, social life, mental and physical health, and relationships. Let’s Remind ourselves of what we set out to do as the semester goes on.
3. Think about how to best utilize the break between semesters. Some examples: rest, therapy, and preparation for the upcoming tasks that lie ahead.
4. See this as an opportunity to leave college with no regrets. College is just as much about personal growth as it is about getting good grades and having fun. We can prove to ourselves that we can make life what we want it to be.
5. Celebrate the small wins. Go a month without skipping class? Hell yeah. Say yes to more opportunities than no? Awesome. Soon enough, we will be achieving what we wanted to achieve without dragging ourselves to accomplish it.

Breathe in the impending fresh start. We got this.