Nina To/The Cougar
The end of the semester has a climactic feel. It evokes the same feelings as the anticipation of asteroids hitting the dinosaurs or James Bond running to disarm a bomb. Time is running out.
Time to fix your grade, time to meet and hang out with friends, time to figure out your future. Everything feels like it is slipping out of your reach. It’s even worse as the next semester starts, and you try to avoid the same mistakes you made.
Anxiety and distress encapsulate your mind as you wonder where the once-long semester went. The resolution of these feelings is the introduction of joy or sorrow that follows you around when the semester officially ends.
Whatever those feelings may be, satisfaction or disappointment, it is important to realize that life does not end here. The trials and tribulations of life are much longer than one semester.
Failure, regret and the weight of “what if”
The feelings that surround a student at the end of the semester are often ones people hope to forget. The anguish of failing a class, the regret of things done and not done and the unease of your future are common feelings.
It would be easy to sing you the melodies of Hakuna Matata or to naively tell you that your mistakes this semester are a one-time thing and that it will get better next semester. That would be ignoring reality, that would be ignoring your problems.
It is a much more mature approach to realize that everything matters, big or small and that those things compound your life. This one semester could snowball into continued disappointment or it can be cleanly resolved. People are often quick to excuse a bad semester, pointing to a string of bad luck or carelessness; you must not fall into that trap.
Our own agency is truly the only thing we can trust in this wacky and nonsensical world. That may sound harrowing, but it brings clarity and ease to know that trying your best is the only correct thing you can do.
If you try your best to reach the upper echelons of success, even if you fall short, you are much more likely to land on solid ground.
At whatever point of failure you are in school, there is not an ounce of impossibility in achieving success. Even in the gloomy fields of a one-time F or the depths of possibly dropping out, success is still within reach. This rings true especially when it comes to achieving success in college, a significant step down from the impossible.
College is meant to push you, not break you
That withdrawal or F may hit like a sucker punch, but it is just as much a friendly wake-up call that you must change something. Many people, especially freshmen, feel horrified at the sight of failure and believe they aren’t cut out for college.
That feeling of worry is unwelcome, but it is often unavoidable for many people.
That worry is often a nonsensical response and a falsehood unless you make it true. The least successful students are not those who deem themselves inadequate; they are those who give up or stop trying.
College may seem like it is designed to weed out or fail you, but in actuality, the sole purpose is to challenge you so you can succeed. The resources they provide, with free tutoring, workshops and assignment help, show the school wants your success more than you do.
Life, and by extension, college, is a series of problems, and that fact leads people to moan and feel gloomy. Instead, people should seek to rise above that typical cynicism and view each challenge as a chance to lead a better life.
The end of the semester is not the end of the world; it is a time to reflect and move on. What may seem like a gigantic distress in the moment is often just a familiar and solvable obstacle. If James Bond can disarm that bomb, save his love interest and still make it to evening tea, then you will be fine.
opinion@thedailycougar.com
