Rosemont College is excited to share the return of the Counseling Center’s series “A Place to Be Seen, Heard, and Supported.” In this week’s Welcome Back message, Sam Keller offers a thoughtful and grounding reminder as the new semester begins.
The start of a school year can bring excitement, nerves, and a long list of responsibilities. Before diving into classes, meetings, and commitments, this Welcome Back reflection invites students to pause and take a deep breath.
Welcome back! A new semester is officially here!
Before we start talking about classes, assignments, practices, meetings, clubs, internships, jobs, social plans, and the approximately 700 other things that are about to fill your calendar…
Let’s take a deep breath.
Seriously.
Breathe in slowly through your nose.
Hold it for a second.
And take a long, slow exhale.
Now, welcome back!
The beginning of a new school year can come with a LOT of pressure. Maybe you’re excited to be back. Maybe you’re nervous. Maybe this is your first semester on campus and you have absolutely no idea what to expect. Maybe you’re a senior wondering how you’re already doing this for the last time.
Or maybe you’re somewhere in between.
Whatever you’re feeling right now, you don’t need to have the entire semester figured out during week one.
Instead of trying to conquer the whole semester, start here:
🌿 Take it one day at a time. You don’t need to mentally live in midterms week when it’s still August.
📅 Look at what actually needs your attention right now. Write down your important dates, get organized, and then come back to today.
🧠 Pay attention to your mental health before you’re overwhelmed. You don’t have to wait until you’re completely burnt out to slow down, ask for help, set a boundary, or take care of yourself.
😴 Build your basics back in. Sleep. Eat. Drink water. Move your body. Get outside. Talk to people you care about. The simple things matter more than we give them credit for.
🤝 Remember that asking for support is part of taking care of yourself. College is not something you have to navigate entirely on your own.
Your reminder for this semester:
You do not need to do everything at once.
There will be busy weeks. There will be great days and hard days. There will probably be moments when you feel completely on top of everything and others when you’re eating dinner at 10 PM wondering what day it is.
That’s college.
So as we head into a brand-new year, give yourself permission to take a breath, find your footing, and start where you are.
One day. One class. One assignment. One deep breath at a time.
You’ve got an entire semester ahead of you. You don’t have to live it all today.
The Counseling Center is always here as a space to talk things through and get support in all areas of life.
You can reach me directly at samantha.keller@rosemont.edu or email rosemontcounselingcenter@rosemont.edu to schedule an appointment.
A Place to be Seen, Heard & Supported
The Counseling Center is "A Place to Be Seen, Heard, and Supported." The Counseling Center team includes Thomas DeGeorge, PhD, LPC, and Samantha Keller. The center brings clinical expertise and a strong commitment to student care. As a result, the Rosemont community receives consistent guidance designed to foster reflection, resilience, and growth.
Explore this weekly series of thoughtful reflections and practical tools to promote student wellbeing featured in the Connections Newsletter by exploring the Counseling Center newsfeed.
