So your first semester over and winter break is over. It’s time to return for spring break. Either you’ve already returned or are going to return soon, you might want to have some advice. Things could have changed over the winter break and you probably don’t even know about those changes. You might even be taking a higher weight load on for this new semester. But, here is some advice for you!

1. Roommates

Some of you might be stuck with the same roommates, whether you like them or not. Or, like me, you could come back for the spring semester and discover that you don’t have a roommate anymore. Either way, make the best of it! If you like your roommate, great. Ignore this point. Keep doing what you are doing. If you don’t like your roommate, try to reach some understanding. Don’t live in silence. You were probably matched through random selection. It’s a hit or miss system. But, if you come back and you are living without a roommate, that’s fine. I lived my second semester in my freshman year without a roommate. Although it took me a solid week to expand my stuff to fill the other empty closet and desk, it wasn’t bad.

2. Classwork

You probably began the year with a good outlook and then it slowly ran down. Now, it’s the same feeling as when you were in high school. That “Ugh, school again?” feeling. But, don’t let that feeling become the norm. If you get that feeling, your grades will suffer. It is most likely that you are taking more classes this new semester or are still under the curse of the eight in the morning classes. Keep up the good constant work to keep up those grades.

3. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate.

Work gets pushed off further and further and your grades will suffer. Not only will your grades suffer, you sleep schedule might as well. You’ll become a zombie who hasn’t slept in quite a few hours and that’s not good to go to classes or finals like that. And, if you don’t procrastinate, you get all your work done early and then you have a lot more free time for other things, like hanging out with friends.

4. Get out there. Join a bunch of clubs and participate in activities.

That will expand your friend group and also make a name for yourself in your school’s community. Don’t try to get by alone. Expanding who you associate with might also lead to future job opportunities once out of college.

5. End bad relationships

I’m not talking about the romantic kind. If you made a friend in the first semester and they turned out to be different than you thought, or manipulative, you might want to end those. It won’t be good for you to deal with something like that in the new semester, especially if you have an increased workload.

6. Find yourself

You’re probably right out of high school. You don’t know who you are, yet. Figure out things you like. Figure out who you like. Discover new careers that you might be interested in. Ideally, there isn’t a due date for this, but your family might say otherwise. Tell them to chill out and leave you alone. You need to find yourself and other people can’t find yourself for you. That’s your job.

7. Try new things

Do something you aren’t used to. Try new foods. Read different books! It’ll help you find yourself. You’ll discover new things and it might even help you find your future career.

8. You know what to shop for

When you first move in, you don’t know about what to buy to stock your room with. Now that you have spent a semester away at college, you know what to get when you return for your spring semester and all the rest of the semesters down the road. Make lists before going shopping or even before going home for winter break so you know exactly what you need for the spring semester.

9. Don’t bring unnecessary stuff to the dorm

Leave unimportant things back home. Anything that you bring will take up space and many dorm rooms are tiny. You want to be conscious of the space and how much space your roommate has for his or her things. Don’t hog all the space. That’s not cool. I have this nice huge bean bag, but it would just be a hassle to tote back and forth, so it stays home.

10. Reflect back on the previous semester

Figure out what worked and what didn’t work for you when it came to studying or doing your work? Does cramming give you terrible grades? Well, don’t cram then. Adjust how you do everything at school so it fits better. Find out what works for you and then do it.

11. But, take care of yourself

Your body needs sleep and food. Take showers and keep yourself clean. Get your work done, but take care of yourself. Have fun and create a social life. Don’t stay holed up in your room all the time. Relax and de-stress yourself by going for a walk.

12. It is alright to be confused

Now that you are actually seeing what your career field is like, you may not like what you see. That’s okay! Thankfully, you are still a freshman, so you have time to change your mind. Confusion is, naturally, a part of life and you might be confused as to where you are going to go after college and that is perfectly fine.

13. Get motivated!

You’ve got a couple tough months ahead of you. Start the day with a motivational quote or a simple “I got this” every day or when it gets hard. If you believe you can do it, you will do it. Don’t hold yourself back every time something gets hard or is challenging. That is life. You can do it!

14. Organization is key

If you haven’t figured out how to organize yourself, you might as well get on with it. With limited space options, you need to figure out where to put your stuff. I color-code my notebooks and folders. One class is this color and another class is that color. I also further organized things where my folders and notebooks are in order of the classes that I have, starting on Monday. It’s like a rotation system and was extremely handy for me to use. I started it last semester and it really helped me get my stuff together. Also, get a school year planner. They are extremely helpful when mapping out your homework assignments. I usually delegated homework to certain days of the weekend to get done, so I still had time to rest and take time for myself.

15. Don’t do illegal drugs

Any illegal substance. Just don’t do them. Even if you think they “help” you, they probably won’t. I’m not even kidding. Stay as far away from them and don’t even touch them with any kind of length pole.