How to Survive

Taken right after my evening class!

… a night class.

This semester, my schedule seems to be scattered throughout the week. I’ll be taking my first evening class, and by evening, I mean 6 PM to 9 PM. I’ve never been exposed to taking a class so late at night, but my first class was last Thursday and luckily, we were let out fairly early. Then again, we basically just went over the syllabus and the first chapter which is usually very brief.

In high school, I was deeply involved with the Yearbook committee and was actually a photo editor for the class. The other editors and I would stay on campus until the late hours of the night: somewhere between 8 PM and 1 AM. During winter break in 2014, I remember spending ten hours in a row in a classroom. My friend Trent and I were extremely burnt out after the four back-to-back days of long nights spent in the Yearbook classroom.

If you have a break, bring things to keep you busy.

That being said, I do have a little bit of experience on how to survive your first night class… So many of us don’t really know what to expect, but a night class is no different than a day class. The only difference is that it’s taught in the evening, when we’re mentally ready to wind down and start clocking out. The actual hard part is staying focused and connected during lecture. A couple of tips I have are:

• Make sure you EAT. Do not skip out on a meal before class! If you’re worried that you might be tired and full after eating, eat thirty minutes to an hour before class starts and then give your body time to digest the food.
• Along those lines, bring a snack. Food is energy. I don’t suggest bringing snacks like chips or candy, but possibly fruit or bars. I find that crunchy food helps wake myself up!
• Self explanatory, but drink coffee… again, if your classroom allows eating and drinking.
• This one’s a little harder, but when you’re dazing off, try and catch yourself and focus on your instructor. Use your eyes to follow him/her and really listen to s/he has to say. **Take notes to keep yourself busy!!**

So far, I haven’t had any complications with focusing in class, but I will send updates as the semester rolls along. Wish me luck!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Love by Matt White