Singing the Blues – Spring Semester Doesn’t Start with Fanfare of Fall

By Lizzie Rush
Staff writer
IG: @liz.rush

The spring semester blues have hit Hutchinson Community College once again, leaving many students feeling more tired and less motivated than usual.

Students and staff alike on campus have found that the spring semester is much harder to get through than the fall semester. With just coming back from a month-long break for the holidays and the only academic days off in the spring being Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 20 and Spring Break, students are creeping along waiting for the moment they get another break from the never-ending school work.

Students find that it’s harder to stay motivated and have energy throughout the second semester.

“I have noticed other students’ lack of motivation, I think a contributing factor of that would be how cold the weather is,” said Moundridge sophomore Maggy Adolf.

The spring semester starting in the dead of winter could quite possibly be one of the main reasons students are hit so hard by the spring semester blues. Coming back to campus after the holidays where they have to walk in the cold between classes can be cause for a negative attitude amongst the students.

“Stress is a big factor and can cause people to fall back on school work,” Adolf said.

Another cause for the semester blues may be because students have grown so used to not having any work during the holiday break and then are instantly met with another big workload at the start of the semester.

Sydney Fountain, a HutchCC psychology instructor, also said she believes that the cold weather may be causing the spring semester blues.

“Sometimes people struggle more when it’s colder out, the sun isn’t out as much. It’s harder to get motivated sometimes,” Fountain said.

Curiously enough despite noticing the spring semester blues in the people around them, neither Adolf nor Fountain have noticed a negative effect on the coursework being handed in.

Adolf said that she prides herself in the work she hands in and Fountain hasn’t noticed a change in the homework she is receiving.

To fight the spring semester blues, Adolf has an idea.

“Find moments of joy amidst the blues,” Adolf said. “My go-to moment of joy is the moment when I wake up reminding myself that God has provided another day for me.”

When asked what advice she would offer students struggling with the spring semester blues, Fountain said, “I would try to motivate them to keep coming to class and be as actively engaged as possible because starting the semester strong can set the tone for the rest of the semester.”

While the spring semester blues work their way through students on campus, it’s important to not let them break your spirit.