DARREN BONAPARTE | staff writer

One of the most dull and difficult parts of the semester has arrived.

Mid terms came and went, and still the dead cloud of weariness lingers. The fun of starting a new year starts to drop during this half-way point.

People become busy, and suddenly, when it’s mid-term, you have an existential breakdown as you realize that you exist but aren’t experiencing.

It’s getting harder to ‘let go’ and have a blast as the semester drops. The level of fun, or as I will call it, “funiosity,” has been steadily declining as the focus reverts back to academics instead of people.

“I know how much stuff I have to do and I always feel like I’m busy but I’m at the point where I don’t even know where to begin,” sophomore communication major Christal Sheley said.

Personally, I’ve been so busy that it’s hard to have a high level of funiosity. Rehearsals and team meetings for most students, Alpha for at least half the underclassmen, and sports, are fun in and of themselves, but none of them offer the funiosity charge this semester needs.

“It’s comfortable. I wouldn’t say slow. I’d say predictable,” senior theater arts major Deja Rabb said. “We’ve gotten into the routine of notes, notes, lecture, quiz, notes, notes, lecture, notes.”

And for some, the mid-semester slump is more a year-to-year problem, and not purely an academic one.

“Compared to freshman year, sophomore year is lower key. You can feel the lack of attention. An emphasis is placed so much on freshmen that once you become a sophomore, you just have to get used to it,” Sheley said.

The best way to beat the school-centered blues?

Take a trip. Get out and go somewhere, whether it be with friends or family. Just getting out and having a change in environment can do wonders for your attitude and outlook on the semester.

Take a walk. If you can’t leave campus, take a walk around campus and look at the trees. Make sure to keep your head up. That way it is easy to spot a friend or find an interesting object to stare at.

Take a daydream break. So you don’t have money to leave campus, and you’re lazy. Simple. Take time out of the day to sit and dream. Let your mind wander around freely.

Plant a plant. Save the Earth, one little shrubbery at a time. It’s cute to plant stuff and studies show that humans have pheromones. Plants and pheromones? Double win.

Write a children’s story. Make sure to include the best moral you would be willing to share with your children. Keep it in your room for years (or months) until you have children, then let them read it. If you don’t want children, simply make the story as morbid as humanly possible. Now you have a bestseller.

Remember, as much as the semester might be difficult, it’s never too hard to enjoy the time you have. College is such a short time in life, and it should be enjoyable. Make sure to spend it doing something you love, rather than something you feel indebted to do.