Returning from a monthlong winter break, students began their spring semester on Monday, Jan. 13. They were greeted by a thick blanket of snow and wind chills in the negatives. After using their time off to get the rest and renewal they need to succeed in the spring, students are getting back into the swing of things.
First-year medical student Alyssa Murphy spent winter break entirely separated from her academics.
“I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get back to the grind,” Murphy said. “I had a very nice break and didn’t open my laptop at all so I truly gave myself the chance to reset. I’m feeling more motivated and I’m looking forward to applying the study skills I learned last year to the new courses I’m taking this semester.”
For Murphy, time spent relaxing over break gave her an opportunity to shift her mindset and think about her schooling in a new light.
“I’ve started changing my mindset from: ‘I really don’t want to do whatever hard task med school throws my way’ to ‘I’m grateful to have this opportunity to do whatever the hard task is,’” Murphy said.
The time-consuming nature of medical school has been a welcome but difficult change from Murphy’s undergraduate studies.
“Med school is dramatically different from undergrad in so many ways,” Murphy said. “The pace, the rigor, the people you’re surrounded with, the faculty. But it’s all better than undergrad.”
One rigorous aspect of medical school is attending all year, as opposed to the undergraduate schedule of attending school between August and May. In her first year, Murphy learned a lot while conquering the complicated ways of medical school.
“You really are studying all the time and the school schedule is very demanding, so staying organized with scheduling your days and scheduling in time for yourself is very important,” Murphy said.
Returning home during winter break allows students to put school completely out of their minds for a short period of time. For junior arts and humanities major Este Castronero, this provided a refreshing sense of clarity.
“I feel mentally checked in,” Castronero said. “Once I got back to school I felt a lot more comfortable because now I had that time to take a rest from any academics or anything that’s work-related.”
In addition to shedding academic stress, students can spend more time with family members at home.
“When I went home it definitely helped a lot, especially being around my family that I don’t get to see all the time and I got to be around my dog which was also super helpful and super nice to have,” Castronero said.
Through the difficulties of academic life, students work to view their spring semester as a fresh start full of opportunity. For Castronero, positivity comes easily.
“I have a very open mindset of just everyday is a new day and everyday is a new adventure, and you just gotta look forward to that next adventure that you have,” Castronero said.
Some students acquired a newfound optimism towards their academics, thanks to the change in semester.
“I’m pretty excited because I was in really hard classes last semester,” freshman environmental studies and sustainability major Jay Citraro said.
Citraro isn’t the only student who is excited to have a lighter course load this spring.
“I’m excited to be taking not a ton of classes because I’m only staying a little bit longer,” senior professional piano performance major Nessia Brooks said.
Brooks is looking forward to the freedom she has to explore a more diverse variety of courses during her final year at MSU.
“I’m excited about taking classes that I’m more interested in taking,” Brooks said. “I feel like I got most of my core work out of the way and now I get to focus on Spanish and other things.”
Along with new classes comes new peers. For students who are just beginning their journey at MSU, meeting others and the prospect of forming lifelong friendships can give a sense of enthusiasm for the start of a new semester.
“I’m just excited to meet new people this semester,” freshman humanities-prelaw major Lola Nelson said.
