Sydney Life

The sun is out, the birds are singing, the jacaranda tree is in bloom... all of which can mean but one thing: Semester 2 is winding down, exams are on the horizon and another year of uni is drawing to a close.

The Quad, in all its summery glory!

It seems strange that uni is about to finish up for another year in a few weeks time. The end of next week will be the end of class, and then three weeks after that exams will be over. Another academic year, done and dusted. It feels a little strange. This Semester has, for me, not been the best. But you know what? That's actually not a bad thing.

My second year of university has passed a lot faster than the first. This is one fact of life that I have come to realise. The first semester I know went well, I enjoyed my classes and did well because of it - I also found myself incredibly busy with things on the extra-curricular side of things, which is always always a plus. This second semester, though, I don't know what to make of it. One of the toughest things about uni, I have found, is that sometimes you end up finding yourself in a bit of a funk and in comes an element of fatigue. This is not to say that I have not enjoyed my second semester, far from it - however there is always a semester out there that's a little bit more "blah" than the rest... this one has been it for me.

Here's the thing, I love uni. For me, it is one of the best places in the world - it's a place of learning, a place of dynamic thought (most of the time!) and of course, a place to socialise. However, Semester 2 2008 has been a little off for me. One thing I will put it down to is time-management; I'm usually fairly good at managing my time, however I've been distracted with a variety of things throughout the semester which has meant that I haven't focused as much on my studies as much as I would have liked. Although I don't feel that my time has been misspent (I'm doing a lot of great things with the University of Sydney Union), I've been leaving a lot of things last minute. I am fairly sure that my grades are suffering for it. Handing things in late, for example, means that you get a late penalty - I received an excellent mark for an English essay recently, only to have so many marks deducted from it because of lateness that it ended up being a mediocre mark. It is nice to know that I wrote a good essay, but at the same time it kind of sucks to know that I could have done better had I got my stuff together earlier and worked to hand it in on time!! At the same time, I've had understanding lecturers, tutors and friends who know that I've been having trouble this semester managing my time (as well as understanding a bunch of other stresses that I've had) - which has meant that my semester has been a lot easier than it would have been had I not let my lecturers/tutors/friends know.

So. I think the main point I want to make is this:
1. it is normal for there to be a semester at uni where things don't quite work out, or where you feel a little "meh" about your classes etc. it could be fatigue, it could be something else.
2. if you are feeling like your semester is a little yuck, don't be afraid to let someone know about it. if it's a time management thing, a stressy thing, a depressy thing, a "OH GOD WHY LIFE!" thing - usually letting someone know about it will help you. there are also a lot of services at uni (such as counselling) in case you feel like letting off some steam.
3. strangely, it is possible to have a lame semester at the same time as having a fantastic semester. there have been a lot of aspects to this semester that I have really enjoyed, in spite of having a stressy time with class.
4. if nothing else, I will learn from my experiences of having a yuck semester. yes, this may sound like a cheesy inspiration speaker phrase - but whatever went wrong this semester I can at least try not to replicate!
5. summer holidays are soon! if there's anything out there to cure a lame second semester, it is probably the summer holidays :)