Coffee Monday: First vs. Second Semester: Freshman Year.

While looking back on my first semester vs. second semester, I see a lot of differences and various things I wish someone would have told me. Though, I did end up figuring it all out through trial and error. This actually resulted in a really easy semester to finish up my first year.

Some background knowledge: During my academic school year at Valley Forge I worked 15 hours a week. I took 16 credits my first semester and 18 credits my second semester. Now mind you, my college is fairly easier than many other universities so my minor adjustments might not be enough for those with a more intense workload and subject matter.

My first semester was tough. I've talked about this before in my post "Finding Joy" a few months ago. There were a few times when I just skipped all of my classes because I was so stressed out and couldn't keep up. Looking back, those were really weird feelings, which turned into really hard days.
-I didn't know how to organize myself or my school work.
-I didn't know time management would be such a big adjustment.
-I couldn't balance socializing with schoolwork very well.


My second semester felt so crazy. Everything was so much easier. I had taken 18 credits (6 classes) and as finals week approaches, I am not stressed at all. I had acknowledged my hardships and did my best to improve those.

I spent a lot of time on ways to become more organized with assignments. I would write them down on note cards and put them on my bulletin board on a weekly basis but that was tedious and I wasn't able to see ahead. Then I moved to creating a calendar from a blank piece of paper every Sunday to help remember my work. I went through so many months of methods until I found the one that stuck.

I started to actually use my planner.
It's actually quite the change when you look at one month to another. The switch between semesters is apparent.

This is how I made my life easier.
I learned how to prioritize, worked really far ahead, and prayed more. Thats it.

The first thing I did at the start of the semester was download all of the syllabi and write down every due date in the entire-month-view in my planner. This was where I could see what was coming up. I'd go into the week-view of my planner and write down everything that was due in more detail and cross these assignments off. This enabled me to see what was ahead and work towards that, while feeling empowered as I crossed assignments off my agenda.

At the beginning of the semester I dedicated Friday night to spend time (hours) in my local Starbucks powering through busy work. By taking quizzes and doing this filler work, I didn't have to worry about due dates and could free my time to work on bigger assignments. I think this was the most beneficial thing I could've ever done.

A senior told me my first semester that the best thing I could do was "jump ahead, don't chase."

I prioritized my work in the very beginning and worked ahead making, not only my academics easier, but my entire life.

It's important to give credit where credit is due. There are always days and nights when I don't think I'll make the deadline. During the entire process of getting my work done and working at a better semester, prayer was in the center.  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6.

Hope this post can help someone who stumbles upon it. Can't believe my first year of college is almost over! Praise God lol.

Happy Monday.

Enjoy your coffee today.

-Em