With less than a month before final exams begin here at Hinds CC, I thought I would blog about the end-of-the- semester blues. Any student out there knows exactly what I am talking about. The semester is coming to an end soon, and the motivation is just not there like it was at the beginning of the semester.
I work in Public Relations here at Hinds and I am also an online student at Mississippi State University working on my bachelor's degree. Taking two classes per semester for the past four or five years now (between Hinds and now MSU), I have suffered just a few bouts of those “end-of-semester blues.” But for some reason this one seems to be the worst. So I started thinking of ways that I could help others, and hopefully myself, with this problem.
Here is the list that I came up with to get motivated at the end of the semester:
- Stay positive even if your grade is not what you would like it to be. As long as you do your best, and try harder these last few weeks, you should be proud of your grade no matter what.
- Get organized with a schedule. Set aside a time each day for your studies. Also add some time in there for fun. This will give you something to look forward to once you get done studying.
- Remind yourself of how far you have come and how close you are getting to your goal. This is so important. If you think about this regularly, you will be more motivated to keep going straight to that goal. It also helps to register for the next semester if you can. I have found that knowing what I am taking next semester gives me a boost to finish this semester.
- Change where you study. This gives your brain a fresh place to soak up all of that knowledge. I usually study in my living room, but I have found that I study really well outside on a nice day lately (as long as the pollen doesn’t kill me first).
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Maybe you are trying to decide on a topic for a term paper, or you are having trouble studying for a final. Ask your instructor for advice. For my classes at MSU, I have to email them questions like this, but they are always great about getting back to me with the help that I need. As far as students here at Hinds, take the time to go discuss your questions in person. Trust me, your instructors will be there if you need them.
I know how hard it is to stay motivated. Between work, my kids and my school, I get the end-of-the-semester blues quite often. But I also know that we can control it if we really want to. It is all about sticking to it and getting through that semester so that we can get to the next one, then the next one, then hopefully…finally…graduation.
When I get these blues at the end of the semester, I often think about my last semester before graduation, and if I will be sad about finishing school. Will those blues be the same kind of blues? Or will they have a different meaning?
