Maybe I am feeling some type of way because that groundhog saw his shadow, or maybe the snow squall I drove in this morning, but I have a sinking feeling spring is a long time away. 

As a result it seems the spring semester feels all the more long and arduous. However, upon reflection, I feel the spring semester always seems more lengthy and taxing, going as far back as high school, maybe even junior high or middle school. I am sure many of you feel the same way. I think it will always be like this as it is the way education unfolds.

I have a hunch that regardless of course load, school will always be more intense when we return from Christmas break. 

I know that in college and university, we come back to all new courses and schedules, and we do not continue the routine we had become accustomed to in the fall. That being said, I feel there is always an underlying sense of anxiety and awareness that we have reached a transitional period of change in the spring. It might just be me who always feels underlying anxiety. 

Once we complete the spring semester we are hoping to advance to a higher level or a more rigorous era in our educational journey. 

The spring is preparing us to move to the next grade level, or even into the workforce and the real world. It can come in the form of moving from a 200 level course to a 300, or maybe taking an extra credit so there is not even the slightest chance we will fall behind for a second. 

The course load and content in each individual course tend to be more extensive and quite frankly, harder in the second semester. The spring implies that new things are evolving, growing and showing that time keeps progressing. 

This manifests itself in a collegiate journey. It may jar us from further putting off things we need to complete; requirements for graduation, internships and involvement in extracurriculars that will look enticing on transcripts and resumes. 

The fall semester starts in August. Everything is warm and golden, the sun is out until 7 p.m., there is a sense of hope and energy. 

In the winter, when we return from holiday break for the spring round, it is the diametrical opposite. The month of January is dark and cold. 

I return with a sense of bitterness, a taste of freedom, an opposition of hostility towards corporate and collegiate organizations, all in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

It is not going to be sunny and warm by March. Hopefully by late May, once graduation season rolls around, but it is always a coin toss.