School is starting up again for CU students. Coming from someone with experience, the transition from a nearly month-long vacation back into the realities of college can be disorienting. Tests, essays, and Chicago-Style papers complete with annotated bibliographies are about to consume the lives of the students at CU Boulder yet again. I find that even my grades suffer from the transition. As such, I believe that the best remedy for this is to get right back into the university lifestyle. In my experience, the first two weeks or so of a new semester bring a kind of calm with them. Getting back into the swing of things around the camps can help to bridge the gap between the winter break and the new semester. Here are a few tips.

Experiment with new clubs

This period in the new semester may serve as the perfect time to become involved with some of the groups around campus. As school becomes more involved and busy, it can be easy to miss out on many of the clubs available to join at CU Boulder. One of the groups which I find most worthy of interest and perhaps new membership is the Colorado Ocean Coalition. This organization seeks to foster a connection between the ocean and the landlocked states. The club also helps those in landlocked states to understand that they too affect the oceans. In a state like Colorado, one may forget how vitally important the oceans are to ourselves and the Earth’s ecosystem, but this organization at CU Boulder helps us remember. Beyond this, however, simply strolling through the available clubs offered at CU Boulder will show that a great many groups are open to join, no matter what your interests may be.

Become involved in the artistic scene

Unfortunately, the arts tend to be ignored when one discusses the commercial. Yet I have found that the arts presented at CU Boulder are highly inventive and exploratory. They broaden the meaning of the arts and may even open one’s eyes to new perspectives. The University of Colorado Art Museum is always a fantastic place for a student to discover art in a way which is easy to dissect and understand. However, many other forms of art are available at CU Boulder. And one of these art forms will take place on the 18th and 19th of January at 7:30. The event of which I speak is an MFA dance concert, entitled ‘Wake.’ In this magically visceral and magnificent concert, Leah Woods, an MFA candidate, explores humanity and the universe in one sublime experience, even considering the world’s end. Indeed, this is just one particular artistic venture available at CU Boulder, throughout the semester, there will be a variety of others.

Lectures

For those who might be more interested in the academic aspects of college, there is a boundless supply of lectures, talks, and presentations at CU Boulder. As the semester begins, the more fascinating and important presentations will occur on campus. These can not only be interesting and informational, but also tell the stories which society may forget; this is the reality of a presentation occurring on January 24th: ‘The Book Smugglers of the Vilna Ghetto.’ The horrendous events of the Jewish Holocaust is not a comfortable subject, or an easy one, but it is vitally important to remember all that happened during that time. CU Boulder’s Program of Jewish Studies is hosting this event for this very purpose. The presentation on “The Book Smugglers of the Vilna Ghetto: A Chapter in Spiritual Resistance to the Nazis” will occur at 7:00 on the night of the 24th. This lecture is offered free of charge and will feature David E. Fishman as the primary speaker in the Old Main Theatre. This type of event will be available consistently at CU Boulder.

Being a student means many things. Unlike the reputation it has garnered, it is not all about writing essays, reading stacks of books, and filling in bubbles on scantrons.  Failing to take advantage of the activities occurring on and around the CU Boulder campus can be a waste. While grades must inevitably be a priority, they are not the end all be all of a student’s life. Taking part in the university lifestyle may help to involve a student in the CU Boulder campus. To any of my fellow students who may be reading this, I wish you the utmost luck in our upcoming semester. I hope that all of us find our own forms of success.

Taylor Denton

Taylor Denton is a movie-loving, vegetarian, nerdy student living in Boulder, currently working to complete a degree in English. She was born on March 22nd, 1998, in Springfield, Missouri. She began writing short stories when she was in middle-school, publishing her first poem in a book created by her school. In high school, her love for creative writing expanded and came to life. She has continued to write, which has become her passion in life. She now writes in college from the perspective of a student, working as often as she can to keep her voice active and evolving while she continues to purse her enthusiasm for writing.