As I take a look back on my first semester, I feel very grateful as a lot went my way. In terms of the good, I was able to find a great friend group, stay on top of my work, and somehow avoid being a freshman 15. I think that these all went well because I made an effort at them. I was social and introduced myself to a lot of people, planned out time to do my assignments, and watched what I was eating. 

When it comes to things that were bad, although few, I think the biggest problem I had this semester was getting into a structured routine. At home, I had a very strict schedule with going to the gym and school, but I was not as strict when I got to college. One thing I could have done differently is choosing to go to the gym either before I have class, or going at night and hanging out with my friends for an hour less. I fell into a kind of FOMO in that if I skipped out on social outings, I would feel as though I was missing out on a great time. While this was okay one or two times, I fell into a trap of pushing the gym to the side, which left me feeling slightly out of my normal mindset, as the gym is not just something I do for health reasons, but also for leisure reasons.  

As I move into the spring semester, I am going to try and be very deliberate with my time. I want to plan my day from start to finish, including school time, social time, and time for the gym and other personal leisure activities. I think that this will help my overall mental health, and pour over into all areas of my life.