Ah, second semester. Brand new classes, people and exam dates to sweat profusely over. But take a deep breath. We’re only getting started.

Depending on how many hours you’re taking and how difficult each of your classes is, you could already be feeling apprehensive about the coming semester. Before you have a full-on meltdown, consider the following.

**You can add and drop classes.** After the first week of classes, you should have a somewhat concrete gauge of the rigor of your courses. If you can handle more without overwhelming yourself, go for it and add a few extra hours! If not, don’t forget you can take courses over the summer, either on campus or at a community college near your home. And if you’re already feeling inundated with work, school and friends, don’t be too proud to drop a class if necessary. If you drop before the “Drop without Penalty” date (Feb. 23), it won’t affect your GPA, either.

**Online classes are always an option.** If you need to add a few more hours but don’t seem to have any time slots for a class, Mizzou offers over 120 self-paced online courses. They can take anywhere from six weeks to nine months to complete, depending on your pace.

**Go see your adviser.** Advisers do more than send emails every other week reminding you of important dates; they’re actual people who would love to help you! Schedule an appointment via MU Connect on Blackboard, go into their office to request a time to come in for a chat, or check to see if there are available walk-in hours.

**Make friends with the person next to you in class.** Some days, you just can’t make it to class. That’s okay, but be prepared. Don’t feel creepy for asking the person next to you for their phone number or email. They’ll probably be grateful to have someone they can get notes from when they’re gone, too.

Obviously, there is much more to school than classes. You may have a job or extracurricular activities to squeeze into your schedule as well. With proper planning, you won’t have to sacrifice either of these things.

**Get involved one at a time.** If you’re planning to add more to your plate, don’t dump a ton of things on at once. This will likely lead to you feeling completely swamped and dropping a majority of the commitments you signed on for. Instead, join new things one by one until you’ve reached a comfortable capacity.

**Schedule work around your schoolwork.** Make a concrete school schedule and then work in your time off. Your employer is probably much more adaptable and accommodating than MyZou. If you see flexibility in your schedule and an opportunity to clump more classes together, do that, so you’ll have more available hours for working while still leaving a few for other things.

**Say no.** This comes back to not overloading yourself. If you simply don’t have the time for something, don’t feel bad for turning it down. Obviously, if there is something you’d love to partake in, see if there is anything in your agenda that can be knocked out beforehand so you can free up time for fun.

**Say yes.** Be open to trying new things this semester!

Lastly, don’t forget to **give yourself some love!** Whether it’s watching a movie alone in your room with a Chinese takeout box balanced precariously on your chest or going out with friends, taking time to relax is just as important as the rest of the things on your busy calendar.