Your Spring Semester Motivational Speech from KTSW

By Hannah Wisterman
Assistant Web Editor

Rev up your coffee machines and flex those note-taking fingers: the semester starts this week, whether we’re ready or not. However, before you decide to run away to Japan and dedicate your life to the ancient art of haiku rather than face your responsibilities, remember that of all the semesters, spring semester is the one that rules the hardest. Between that and the fact that anyone reading this blog obviously makes great choices, we’re certain that the next few months are going to be ultra-terrific for you. But if you need more convincing, we’re happy to oblige.

One of the best parts of the spring semester is that you’ve hit your stride. A lot of us (especially freshmen) come into the fall semester confused and disoriented. Our brains and attitudes addled by the Texas summer heat (I swear this is a real problem), and it takes us a while to figure out… well, everything. I’m pretty sure I said “things are just crazy because I’m not adjusted yet” for at least a month last semester, but things come together faster in the spring. We’re fresh off finals, so the mistakes and things we could have done better are still bright and shiny in our minds. Get screwed out of an A for not doing extra credit? Now you know to be on the look-out for any opportunities for it. Miss a deadline on a major paper? Now you know to write down due dates (if you’re like me, to write them down in two or three different places). We grow and learn every semester, and that’s what’s exciting about this part of the year. It’s your first chance to show off the new habits and skills that you probably learned the hard way. It’s like real-life leveling up.

Speaking of new habits and skills, we all know the following to be true. New year, new you. Because the fall semester is later in the year, we sometimes go into it feeling run-down and settled into whatever mood we fell into during the summer (or even earlier). Spring semester is much different. Even if you haven’t set New Year’s resolutions, it’s still easy to tap into the idea that we’re all on a new page now. Sure, the Gregorian calendar is a construct and time is a flat circle or whatever, but there’s no denying that right now, we’re all feeling the power of a fresh start. This is the perfect time to let go of things with which you struggled last year, and start implementing things that you’ve always wanted to do. In short, the year hasn’t beaten you up yet, which means it’s the perfect time to gear up and find the energy you need to conquer it.

Then there are plenty of smaller reasons spring semester is great. We get Spring Break, a whole week off classes; in the fall, we don’t even get a whole week for Thanksgiving. Black History Month and International Women’s Day are this semester. We get to model our sweaters and scarves for a little while, but soon enough, the weather will be warm enough to hit the river again– the best of both worlds. One of the best things of all: KTSW has tons of new staff members that are excited to liven up your online, on-air and on-campus experiences. So chin up, gentle reader. From us here at KTSW to you: good luck this semester. We think you’ll do great.

Featured image by Hannah Wisterman.