Spring semester slump
Illustration by Zoë Luis.
Lauren Prattis, Audience Editor
Spring has finally sprung. The sun no longer sets at four p.m., the Richmond trees are in bloom and college students everywhere — myself included — feel like there is no end in sight. After asking a few of my friends if they feel the same way, I have decided to call this phenomenon the spring semester slump.
I wondered why the spring semester felt significantly harder than the fall — the bitter temperature combined with total darkness for most of the afternoon makes it seem like it would be more unbearable for a college student to survive every day.
As I sat in class during a beautiful day, I thought about the slump I have been in these past few weeks. I finally realized that the structure of the spring semester feels like it is set up to make students fail. In my experience, the spring semester feels longer even though both semesters are about the same length — it is a constant sprint to a finish line that keeps moving further away.
I feel like some professors equate fewer breaks to students having more time to dedicate to their classes — I know from almost three years of experience that this is definitely not the truth.
I used to think that I needed to spend more time outside every day, but the voice in my head kept telling me that I should be spending that time hunched over my desk, checking things off on my Canvas to-do list instead.
The anticipation of what the summer holds is the worst part for me — my inbox is currently being bombarded with messages about due dates, lease agreements and internship application rejections. I know I am not alone in saying I have no idea how I will be spending my summer break. I can only imagine how much worse this feeling is for graduating seniors.
Depending on a student’s living situation, they have to think about packing up and moving home just to turn around in three short months to come back to campus. If you aren’t moving in and out of dorms, you have to deal with landlords constantly bugging you about resigning your lease with the guarantee of the price going up.
Unlike the spring semester, there are enough random days off sprinkled through the fall that make me feel like I get a real break. The slog of the spring semester makes me wish I could implement mandatory recess for college students.
