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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014
PAGE 7
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LIFE
Top 10 ways to make this the best semester
CORRINE DORRIAN
entertainment@kansan.com
Around the last days of the year, we reflect back on the days behind us. After smiling during the good times and learning from the bad times, we make our New Year's resolutions with hopeful hearts for the best year yet. With the stresses of school, work and life, it's sometimes hard to stick to those goals. Here are the top ten ways to help make this your best semester yet.
1. Go to class
The most important thing about being a college student is school. The best way to know what's going on in class is to actually go to class. While it can be hard to wake up on a Monday morning for an early class; do you really want to spend more time reviewing what you missed later on only for an extra hour of sleep? It'll make your life easier to just go to class.
2. Study
With temperatures dropping below 20 degrees, it can be easy to skip class, but going to class is the most important step to a great semester for University students. Use lawrencetransit.org to find the nearest bus route.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Take the time to study notes and review a little bit each night. If you have a big test coming up, don't cram the night before. Taking the time to study will make your semester so much easier when it comes to those difficult tests. Don't stress yourself out by procrastinating and telling yourself you have to study but never actually do. Just spread everything out over a certain amount of time instead of cramming it all in one night.
3. Do your homework
So, you went to class; that should be enough right? As much as you don't want to, do the homework. It will benefit you in the end. Also, try to do it the day of your class so you don't fall behind. Just take a few hours out of the day, turn on some good study music, and get that homework done.
4. Organize yourself
Everyone is different and has their own way of doing things. Sometimes it helps to write yourself notes and put them up all over your room so you never forget when you have a test or when to call your mom. The calendar app for the iPhone is my best friend. No one will judge you for having an organized life, even if that means carrying around a planner everyday and having to secretly pencil them in.
5 Get involved around campus
6. Adopt a hobby
There are so many different clubs and organizations at the University. There's something for everyone. Joining a club is a great way to meet new people, do fun things and get involved with the school. You can find a list of University organizations online at rockchalkcentral.ku.edu/organizations.
Take up a fun hobby; something that you love to do. Scrapbooking, learning an instrument, model making or anything that you enjoy, make it your hobby. Find what speaks to you. Hobbies are a good way to pass time when things get stressful in your life.
7. Show school spirit
We have some very talented individuals, who represent our school. Get out there and show how much you love wearing that crimson and blue because after all, we do go to the best school in the country.
8. Get some sleep
It really is the best thing to do sometimes. When you aren't feeling well, you're stressed out, you're feeling down or you're just exhausted from a long day or night of studying? Take a nap; it will replenish you and give you the energy to get up and get on with your day. There is an Irish Proverb that says, "A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures."
9. Find balance
Sometimes it is hard to find balance between work, school, family, friends and activities. There may be a lot going on in your life but do not stress yourself out about it. Your friends and family will always be there, they aren't going anywhere. Make sure to get the most important things completed first, of course. However, if you have a busy life, don't push things off until the very last moment.
10. Make "you" time
The most important thing to have a successful semester is to make sure to make time for yourself. When things get stressful, take an hour to do something that makes you happy. Put yourself back in a good state of mind. Watch a movie, play your favorite video game, take a nap, read a book, spend time with your friends or just relax. It's the best way to get your mind off the stressful things in your life and enjoy the things that make you happy.
FILMS FROM PAGE 5
hit the big screen. Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) faces one obstacle after another in the deep abyss of space, as director Alfonso Cuarón crafts gripping tension around her journey. In the vein of Cuarón's "Children of Men," the film uses extraordinarily long single-shot sequences that give an unfinching perspective to the action. The reverberating score captures the vast emptiness of the environment and the mainly computer-generated visuals look so real that you feel lost in space yourself.
7 "12 Years a Slave"
What "Schindler's List" did in its depiction of the Jewish Holocaust - translating the terrible reality of that tragic situation into a raw experience that makes viewers confront it as real, not just part of histe-
- "12 Years a Slave" does in its accurate portrayal of slavery in America, but through the eyes of a victim. Free man Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Eijofor) is drugged and sold into slavery in antebellum Louisiana, where he lives in bondage for 12 years. It's grueling, brutal and depressing to sit through, especially as his terrifying mas
ter (Michael Fassbender) personifies man's remarkable cruelty. Ultimately, it stands as an artfully made testament to the human spirit and is required viewing for understanding the horrors of slavery.
8. "Star Trek Into Darkness"
The 2009 "Star Trek" reboot is one of the most enjoyable and rewatchable adventures of recent years, and its sequel proves just as entertaining and exciting. Even better, it takes on a darker tone, raises the stakes with a much more cool villain (Benedict Cumberbatch) and actually elicits a few tears at its emotional climax. J.J. Abrams is a god of geekdom, appealing to both Trekkies and mainstream audiences, and he directs this spectacular blockbuster with visual panache, snappy and smart character interaction and a wild sense of fun. More than all the titles from 2013, I'll be rewatching this one over and over.
The Coen brothers' latest is more subtle and soulful than their usual work, a dramedy about a folk singer (Oscar Isaac) navigating the music scene of Greenwich Village over a troubled week in 1961. Llewyn has no home of his
9. "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Edited by Jack Feigh
own, has constant money problems and is kind of a jerk. Yet it's hard not to feel for the poor guy as, like many Coen characters, he is punished with one repercussion, hardship or disappointment after another. The Coens achieve a wonderful balance with their wry, ironic humor and oddball side characters alongside a sense of melancholy that comforts through its relatability and beautiful soundtrack.
10. "Ustream Color"
Shane Carruth's 2004 debut "Primer" still stands in a class of cerebral, hard sci-fi all its own. His long-awaited sophomore feature "Upstream Color" proves he has one of the most unique, complex voices in indie film. The film's story has too many moving parts to explain, but it's essentially a romance rooted in low-key but fascinating science fiction elements. These elements work like pieces in a puzzle, where the big picture is easy to see but putting it together requires strict attention to detail. Carruth doesn't work on the regular level of movie narrative, instead using visual storytelling and montage editing, resulting in highly involved viewing.
Edited by Austin Fisher
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