Dodging the Bullet: Resolutions for a New Semester
Maddie Neiman ’21 reflects on her first semester and makes resolutions for her second
By Maddie Neiman, Staff Writer
The beginning of a new year also means the beginning of a new semester, and as I plan my goals and aspirations for 2018, I am making some specific (and maybe somewhat unrealistic) resolutions for my spring at Gettysburg.
Of course, my list begins with the classic promises to eat healthier and work out more. While on campus, this translates to scheduling my intake of Servo cookies to (at most) once a week and my visits to the Jaeger Center (at least) once a week.
Getting more sleep also ranks high among my goals for the spring semester. In the fall, I reached a personal record low of four hours of sleep, and, as much as I enjoy the occasional mid-day nap, I am aiming for mostly eight-hour nights in the coming months.
Still, not all my resolutions are changes from last semester. I plan to continue to volunteer through the Center for Public Service, especially at the local senior center. My experiences eating dinner with the seniors and losing at Rummikub are some of my favorite moments from the fall.
I also want to continue to attend campus events. BurgBurst and Salsa on the Square were highlights of last semester, and I am excited to participate in Twilight Hour and other spring occasions in the coming months.
Likewise, staying open to new academic and extracurricular opportunities remains an important goal for me this semester. For the sake of my mental and physical health, however, I want to avoid overextending myself. Instead, I plan to focus on the activities and organizations that I have already joined and devote myself to becoming more involved with them.
I would like to devote myself more to the people around me, too. Last semester, I learned that one of my favorite parts about Gettysburg is the community. I could walk from my dorm to the CUB and wave to at least three or four people that I recognized from a class or a club or a mutual friend. In the spring, I want to continue to meet new people and wave to more friendly faces.
Hopefully, as I wave hello to new friends, I can wave goodbye to unnecessary stress this semester. My heaviest-weight goal for the spring is to get a jumpstart my class assignments. I have learned that having three weeks for an essay fools me into a false sense of security in which I fail to notice time disappearing until those three weeks have suddenly become three days. Aiming for a stress-free spring, I plan to end this bad habit and not let deadlines ambush me.
Whether or not I succeed in reaching all my goals, I look forward to seeing what new experiences and people I will encounter this semester. My final, overarching resolutions are to embrace 2018 and to have a memorable first spring in Gettysburg.
Editor’s Note: This article is the fifteenth of our series “Dodging the Bullet: The First Year Journal,” in which The Gettysburgian‘s staff members from the Class of 2021 share stories, reflections, and perspective on their first year experience. You can read the full series here. (BP)
