Well, the break has flown by and the tougher semester is here to stay put, at least for another 4 months. Most of us are probably still in semi-denial of the reality that the long-not-awaited Semester 2 is finally here, and that vacation is over, however short it was.
So to get right back on the dental track without much distress, we thought of sharing with you a list self-help strategies (we all know how useful they are) with help of the Almighty Google.
Dear Google, how to get back to studying after a long break? Well, this question itself is quite ambiguous in nature. It can be interpreted in multiple ways a) getting back to school after a long holiday b) taking up a new course possibly months or years after graduating from a certain school. But remember, I did ask the all-knowing search engine. After a complex set of algorithms being made to match my demographic group, I was directed to several websites that shared about post-vacation strategies.
Here is the list, let's dive right in, shall we?
#1 Limit your tasks, workload, commitment.
Let’s get real. Is that even a matter of choice in dental school? First day of the semester- anatomy overload at 8.30am. And the week just gets progressively longer and intense from then on with heaps of first time skills being put on test with even higher expectations. Well, let's skip this one, it is non-applicable for this course.
#2 Turn your study space into a mini-sanctuary.
Well, mine still looks like a massive earthquake since the exams, with loose papers, snacks wrappings and other indiscernible crap lying around. The effort of sprucing them up itself seems to be a huge commitment, let alone renovating them into a paradise. Remember #1- limit your workload. Again, not applicable. What is wrong with these approaches, they are contradictory. Moving on to No. 3.
#3 Make a holiday resolution.
Now, now, does anyone even do New Years resolutions these days? We all know it never works; we probably need another list of strategies to help make and stick to a holiday resolution. Again too much workload. If despite all odds a resolution is made, what would it be? Study X hours daily? Keep up to date with lectures? Prepare before all clinic sessions? I think the dental school has employed sufficient and efficient resources to deal with that.
#4 Find a vacation theme song.
This strategy is probably to remind you of the freer days, in the aim to get your calm mode on. It may work for some, but I am predicting most may fall into a post-vacation temporary acute depression instead. I, certainly am, one of them. The right jam to the heightened blah-ness would probably be Fantine’s“I dreamed the dream” from Les Misérables.
#5 Looking forward to come back.
This is when you are supposed schedule certain activities that you did on vacation during your first week back to uni i.e hiking, yoga, absolute nothing, etc. Hmm, this seems plausible. If we only had the TIME.
Maintaining the post-vacation chill ain’t that easy ay?
Jokes aside, hope you guys have had a wonderful break and a somewhat bearable, if not enjoyable first few weeks of dental school.