Honest advice on how to survive second semester at CU

Christmas and New Years are over and it’s almost time to go back to Boulder. Your stomach is about to burst from all the food you’ve eaten over break and you’re struggling to pack all your new gifts . The stress from finals has subsided and it’s time to start fresh and new. It’s finally time to come back to school to start the second semester.

But, now that you’ve gotten the hang of first semester and been home for over a month, how could it be possible to survive ANOTHER semester full of stress, dorm-life and crappy food? Well where there’s a will, there’s a way. Here’s a simple survival guide on how to get through the cold and snowy second semester here at CU:

Prepare for a cold dorm room

After being home for a month, it’s hard to come back to the small, twin-size bed and the cold, depressing room that holds so many memories of stressful nights. Maybe bring up a few extra blankets from home to make your bed warmer or that body pillow you’ve had for so long. Since the dorms at CU have connected heating, you can’t adjust your heat, so it’s pretty much a hit or miss. Be sure to prepare your dorm for the coldest of days. It’s probably smart for the cold second semester here in Colorado.

Avoid the C4c and Farrand at prime time

When you come back second semester to the CU food you’ve known way too well after rolling around in holiday food and homemade meals for a month, it may be a little disappointing. Here’s a tip that I’m sure you’ve already figured out: AVOID the C4c and Farrand at noon. Unless you want to have to weave through people just to stand in line forever at the Farrand Grab & Go, or unless you want to wait for the C4c just to see there’s absolutely nowhere to sit, then I highly recommend avoiding this time at all costs.

Keep the peace with your roommate

The biggest part about being a freshman living in the dorms is learning to live with someone you might have not known up until this year. Whether your roommate was random or selected, it’s still pretty hard to adapt to seeing the same face all day, every day. Although you may love your roommate (or maybe not), it’s okay to accept the fact that living with someone may have gotten a little difficult over the semester. But guess what? You’ve got another whole semester with them. So, to make things easier, just keep peace, whether it’s a short walk to get some Cosmos Pizza or even just to go study together silently in Norlin.

Use your hall’s study rooms

That’s what they’re there for. Every residence hall, like Libby, Willard, Baker and Farrand for example, has designated study areas where the only thing that goes on there is studying. What a cool concept huh? But, make sure to only use them strictly for studying because if you go in there to meet up with friends and to socialize, you will be getting lots of glares from the ones actually studying.

Make time for homework

Coming from high school, it was a huge change having to find time for homework. College is full of stress and there’s never enough time. First semester you might have gotten the hang of balancing social life and homework, so continue to do so in second semester, because it’s not going to get any easier. Scheduling  strictly-homework-time-only time everyday will definitely help the stress subside.

 Don’t rely on first semester activities

First semester might have been full of fun clubs and activities such as intramural sports or going on hikes in the warm summer weather. But, second semester is a new beginning. I’m not saying to quit doing these things, but second semester is a chance to try new things and to open your mind to many other activities here on campus. Now that the winter has rolled in, your semester can be full of taking trips up to Keystone for the day with your friends or walking around campus and the Hill with a Starbucks in hand from the UMC.

Fix your sleep schedule

New year, better sleep. It’s true, college students have probably the worst sleep schedules known to man. From getting seven hours of sleep a night to napping three hours out of the day to staying up until 4am, there’s no such thing as a sleep “schedule” for college students. Your body and mind will thank you for getting good sleep, especially in college.

Actually DO your laundry (or at least try to)

The hardest/most annoying part of living in the dorms: finding time (or motivation) to do your laundry. With it being three dollars to get your laundry washed and dried, it’s pretty understandable to want to wait another week, or even month, to do your laundry. But, when you wake up one morning five minutes before class starts, searching for a decent outfit out of your laundry basket will be more hassle than grabbing a shirt right of the hanger. Just try and fit it into your schedule, even though it sucks.

Don’t forget to have fun

CU is known for its insane parties and for students walking around the Hill all night. Going out is one of the main experiences in dorm life because you live right next to where most people go out to party. That can be a huge temptation on the weekend when you’ve got a six page essay due Monday. Having fun on the Hill is one of the for sure benefits of going to school in Boulder so take advantage of it. But, don’t forget about the schoolwork either. There’s nothing wrong with taking a night off once in a while.

Keep going

The best tip is just to keep trudging through. Even though it may get hard and seem hopeless at times, it’ll all be worth it in the end. College is supposed to be one of best times of your life, so just make sure you have fun and enjoy your last semester of being a freshman.