For all students, the first and second semesters are different. For some, the first is the hardest: they skip, ditch, and their grades sink more than their attendance. While others thrive in the first semester, others drown. However, others thrive in the second semester and drown in the first. Is this because of seasonal depression hitting some and ignoring others? Is it the momentum gain from the first semester that makes others grow in the second? Or is there really not one answer, but multiple? Or are semesters in school really not that deep?

Comparing the two, shows their vast differences. In the first semester, teachers and students get to know each other, the teachers learning how much work each student can handle while the students starting to feel the flow of the work This can either make the first semester easier or harder.The lack of work and the lighter curriculum could make it easier, but the workload could make it harder, especially for the student athletes who have to juggle the unfamiliarity, the work, and their sport of choice. On the other hand, does this make the second semester harder because we are so used to the work we put it off, prolonging the process, resulting in us drowning in work? The ball is starting to roll, gaining its momentum, but will this momentum make it harder to stop?

First semester occurs during the colder seasons. Fall and winter do not have much sun and, many actives to do outside without freezing to the core. Seasonal depression is high during the first semester.  Research proves that being outside in the sun can make you happier because of Vitamin D or the “Sunshine Vitamin.” The article Happy Summer Daze states that the vitamin stimulates serotonin synthesis, which can promote a positive mood and well being. Without Vitamin D, we are often unhappy causing seasonal depression. Does this make the first semester harder? We are constantly trying to handle school while, scientifically, in a bad mood, making things harder than it needs to be.

The second semester is where most thrive. However, are we thriving academically or thriving outside? The heat of the warmer months can cause us to lose focus. We need to have a stable body temperature in order to think and focus on such things like school. So perhaps it’s not just the amount of work that makes the second semester hard, but the temperature and the need to be outside. Or is it the combination of being too hot and being too overwhelmed with school? Or is it not entirely the temperature of the weather, but the weather itself? Dying to get outside rather than being indoors could drive someone stir crazy.

Is there a certain science behind the semesters?

Sources:

Happy Summer Daze – The science behind why we love summer

Winter Wakes Up Your Mind–and Warm Weather Makes it Harder to Think Straight