Beating the Midterm Blues
by Miguel Escobar on August 11, 2010
It’s the middle of the sem and the pace is picking up — will you buckle down to work, or buckle under the pressure?
Let’s face it— there comes a time, somewhere down the semester, when the average student just doesn’t feel the drive for school anymore.
We all know how it’s like to start the year giddily with a fresh batch of notebooks and supplies that are begging to be used, but it’s not too easy to keep everything that way from first day to finals. Those once-prim notebooks eventually show a page-by-page deterioration of penmanship, as students’ hands grow tired of the daily jotting that their classes demand. Those overpriced gel pens and fancy-pants highlighters wind up crying out from the abyss of our bags, buried under layers of crumpled photocopies and miscellaneous papers.
Likewise, the student’s very own disposition, once gleaming towards school, dims to a bleak, nihilistic gloom, and a deep repulsion towards anything that counts as schoolwork. This depression usually reaches critical mass come the middle of the semester. When due dates pile up and midterm exams abound, the infamous midterm blues set in. Thankfully, g’s around to keep you in chirpy and stress-free company. Midterm blues? Don’t worry, we’ll get through this together.
Find your Central Perk.
So, how can one inject a dosage of school-based inspiration into one’s self? I personally find that friends tend to be my primary sources of that “can’t wait for school!” feeling. Just because you’re immersed, knee-deep, in schoolwork doesn’t mean you have to turn into a hermit. Common breaks and late nights at Matteo are always great for sharing meals and forming study groups. Being surrounded by people can be an effective way to study and bond with your friends.
Remember, there is no substitute for hard work.
There’s no easy way out— an ostensible chunk of our grades comes from the demands of the midterm weeks, and hard work is an absolute must. Whether at home or at any of the various “loner sites” of Ateneo, working alone is another valuable method of combating the midterm dreads. Students who care enough about their grades will spend most of their free time slaving away at lengthy papers, fixating themselves at monstrous walls of text, or agonizing over cryptic math problems— that much is inevitable.
Know your limits.
When faced with a lot of work, today’s students tend to turn to a little chemical assistance. While these do help, it’s also important to remember that coffee, energy drinks, and the consequent sleeplessness seem like tempting means to get work done, too much of these will drive you into fits of inefficiency and drowsiness — not exactly a desirable combination any day. Moderation is key.
Goal!
According to a fresh-grad Ateneo alumnus, the key to surviving the ever-treacherous middle of the sem is to set the right goal. “My first concrete solution is to go back to your pre-sem goals and compare it with your present situation [...] I would think of things I want to see myself as at the end of the sem, to improve where I am.” Goal-orientation is a priceless ally.
He added that initiative must back up the goals you set, “What a lot of people don’t realize is that the middle of the sem is where most of the opportunities are ripe for the picking.” It’ll do you a world of good to take advantage of those opportunities.
Find inspiration.
Above all these, there’s one irreplaceable key to beating any hell week: finding inspiration. We need to remember why we’re in Ateneo in the first place: to be successful in whatever it is we’re geared at. Whether you’re here to be the world’s next top CEO, doctor, lawyer, or whatever else, it helps to remember that what you do in school will bring you closer to your long-term goals – they should serve as ample stimulus to get you going. Passion is the best incentive.
All it takes is to maintain a positive attitude towards school; and before you know it, you’ll be taking on the midterm workload with the gusto and excitement that’ll lead you down the path of success.
