COLUMN: A cure for mid-semester blues

From Alex Gino's, "My Cleverly Titled Column," Fall '98 From Alex Gino's, "My Cleverly Titled Column," Fall '98Hitting the seven-week mark was a rush -- the semester was half over. Now, though, you've hit the lull before the storm. Work is progressing. You're behind, but doing OK. Each day seems like the next. Monday mornings begin with the thought, "five days until the weekend." Finals scare you, but you want them to happen so the semester can finally end. First-year students from room A-1 in DRL to room B-6 of Stiteler are sitting there, astonished that someone can possibly know their feelings so well. As a senior, I can tell you that it happens every semester. Not feeling it? Consider yourself lucky. You must have amazing classes. But for the rest of us, there's at least a class or two we feel should have ended with October. However, there are a few things you can do to liven up your life. They don't take much time, and they'll help you feel like something interesting happened. Try one or two out, or come up with one of your own. Doing special things for ourselves helps us calm down, and that means more productive study time. · Draw! I mean that. Get your pencil and paper (perhaps the back of a syllabus). Set an alarm for 10 minutes and spend the time drawing without looking at the clock. It doesn't have to be good. If you don't like to draw, shade instead. Don't worry about the time; the clock will watch it for you. If you're really ambitious, go out and buy some crayons or markers. This takes about 1/3 the time of your average, "one TV show" study break and much less than a "let's just see who's out in the hall," and it's actually much more effective. Coloring or drawing will stimulate the left side of your brain, waking up your brain overall and relieving the right side of your brain -- the one you use for studying -- for a bit. · Sleep upside down. No, not like a bat. I just mean sleep on your bed with your feet where your head usually goes. This is something I tried last year because I was simply sick of life and was looking for a change, any change. It was surprisingly relaxing. It made me feel like I was experiencing change, which was something I was craving. Plus, in the morning, the moment of confusion as to where you are helps wake you up. · Wear something you don't usually wear. Whether it is pyjamas, eveningwear, bright colors or anything else in your closet, it will again make you feel like the day is somehow interesting and different from other days. For many people, dressing up in a suit works especially well. If you normally wear suits, dress in sweats. Drag something out of your closet that you can't remember why you brought it to Penn, and don it. · Give yourself half an hour of "me" time, especially the day after a major paper was handed in or test taken. Maybe you can't sleep for 14 hours because something else is due the next day, but you can take out half an hour to read from a novel, watch your favorite TV show, call a friend, etc. Just how much can you get done in one half-hour anyway? · For all-nighters, I've found that the 10-minute eye rest every two hours works wonders. After about 2 a.m., my eyes begin to hurt from staring at the screen. So I would put on music and close my eyes for about 10 minutes, being sure not to go over by setting my alarm. Note: This is not for everyone. Some people are liable to fall asleep and become unwilling to drag themselves out of bed. Try it once at a non-crucial time and see if it works for you. An alternative is to do some sort of physical exercise. That will help wake you up, if you can get yourself to do it. Be sure to keep your eyes closed, though. This is, after all, an eye rest. Get over the issue of putting your head where your feet have been. Next time you need a study break, pull out the crayons. If you see a good portion of the people on this campus in dresses tomorrow (regardless of sex), it'll be a statement that we won't let monotony drag us down. We can simply upstage it. Embrace change. It's the only thing we can count on. (The author takes no responsibility for possible problems that result from these tips. Please, pass your classes. Who wants to sit through them twice?)