Lately, I've been feeling somewhat liberated, maybe because this is the end of the semester and all those deadlines and all the times I had to stay up and study for tests are now over. Now, since the semester is over, I realize how time-consuming academics can really be. For example, how many hours we should put into one homework assignment is crazy. I do understand that is probably for retention purposes and it's the best way to really get a certain topic in your head, but it can be too much.

This semester, most of the time I would feel lost in the books and personally, I do not believe it was in a good way. I would sit under my desk light and often find that the words would come off the page and I would get overwhelmed with information, along with having to re-read the assigned readings because I couldn't get them to stick the first three times that I read them.

I understand also that the purpose of college is for us to develop critical thinking thus looking for the information and being able to come to an answer all on our own. I get it that it is not always easy for many people to really get a certain topic. But how can we retain more information if we do less work?

Personally, for me, the more I wander around a certain topic the less likely I will be in retaining information. I think the more time we give ourselves for a certain topic to really sink in the more likely we will probably retain the information. Sometimes I feel like I will sit for hours at my desk and I have been reading but I really didn't actively read and analyze what I just read.

Towards the end of the semester, I tried to take breaks when it came to studying and homework assignments. This taught me that during my break I can reflect on what I had read and this way when I returned to do my homework assignments I would be able to complete my work with better ease. Surprisingly, I could retain information a lot easier this way and I also became more motivated to get more homework done in a day.

I also started going to the gym a lot more often and it would almost feel like a breath of fresh air when I would leave the gym. I believe because after a long day I took the time to thank my body for everything that it does. We get so caught up in the daily schedules that we forget that mind and body are two completely different things, that work together to make you perform at your best. When you thank your body by giving it what it needs your mind will follow and it will help you perform at your best.

Next time you feel like homework is just not going the way you want it to, take a break, get a breath of fresh air. It won't make a difference if you keep going and nothing is going your way, so take a breath and take care of yourself.