Samantha Gervais
Anchor Staff Writer
No one seems to believe that “semester fatigue” really exists. Well, let me be the first to tell you that it does indeed exist. Semester fatigue is something I’ve witnessed in my classes and among my peers as the semester has progressed. I never really considered that something like this existed until this semester, to be perfectly honest.
Symptoms of semester fatigue that I notice include becoming more relaxed in assignments, oftentimes saying things like, “I’ll get to it later” or “Is it really that important?” Professors, don't come for the students on this, I promise, I’m going somewhere with it.
We, as students, push through the assignments because that’s our duty, but that doesn’t mean we don't feel drained. Depending on the number of classes we are taking and what our majors are, the impact of said fatigue can vary.
Something a friend said to me while we discussed semester fatigue was that, “It helps having a goal. Having some semblance of an idea reminds me of why I’m trying so hard, and helps me get out of the fatigue sometimes.” Honestly, I found that to be a relatable statement. Personally, I find myself getting those waves of fatigue from time to time, especially when exams roll around the corner. Exams that fall in the same week or same day stress me out rather easily and that seems to be the popular consensus among other students.
There are, however, ways to remedy the fatigue. Remedying the fatigue sounds like it’s a lot of work and granted, it is, but it does help. I find that reminding ourselves of our goals is one of the most important things that we as students can do. In a way, it almost reignites our passion and reminds us as to why we decided to come to Rhode Island College in the first place and why we decided on specific majors or minors in the first place.
Another way for students to fix semester fatigue is to try your best to get ahead on upcoming exams. Now, I know that it’s tough to get a jump start on certain things, but in the long run, it would relieve such an intense amount of pressure when that week of studying before the exam arrives. Occasionally, students need an extra push. College life on top of regular life adds stress for everyone, so it’s only natural for students to feel that fatigue and begin to question why they began the career path they did. Classes can get arduous and tedious.
However long the process is, the more time we as students seem to pace ourselves, the more we can steer away from semester fatigue. Not to say that it won’t ever happen again if students try these techniques, but it certainly can ease some of the burden.
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