Before entering college, I’d always felt a certain affinity toward fall. There’s so much to romanticize as I count the days until every item is made in a pumpkin version and I await the long duration until it's socially acceptable to put on my cozy Uggs.
And, I’ve never personally been a spring person.
So, it seems almost against everything I know to say I actually find the pollen-swirling days of spring to be the better semester here on campus — and it’s not debatable.
First, beginning school in the cold month of January allows the weather and semester to have nowhere to go but up. Though moods may be low and students all over wish they could relive winter break, there’s so much to look forward to.
After just a few more cold, dark weeks, students will no longer need to wear sweatpants everyday. The quad will suddenly overflow with students choosing to skip their lectures and recitations. Plus, it’s about this time that I start to get very sentimental about the year: the progress, the struggles, the laughs, the hours spent huddled in Mitchell Hall during a shooting lockdown, the thrills experienced while rushing Franklin and waiting for Cormac Ryan to reveal the ACC regular-season championship trophy for all of Chapel Hill to see.
When you have something to reflect on, you can really grow — making the spring semester the embodiment of growth.
Students are finally at that point where they’re in a full-blown routine and thriving. It’s when I (embarrassingly) finally get past my pride and attend office hours for my classes. It’s when I’m seasoned enough to brave the bottom-of-Lenoir lines all by myself.
Conquering social anxiety and finally taking academic accountability, I reach full bloom.
Spring semester is also the end of fake, conventional friendships for many people. It’s the time I’ve been able to really click with the people I know are going to stick. Spring semester is when you realize a going-out friend might only be that kind of friend, and that’s okay — because spring is not only a reminder of progress but an opportunity for renewal.
