Winter break is nearly over for most, if not all of us students! As we wean ourselves off of our parents' debit cards and start buying more textbooks, realize that we still have no idea where our classes are, and prepare ourselves for another sleep-depriving semester we look at the next five months with a sense of premature anxiety. Going back to school means hours of class and homework and less of naps, application for student organization after another and most likely rejection after rejection, and lots of coffee. Lots of coffee. Even though the second semester seems daunting and already full of stress and void of free time, there is so very much to look forward too.

Spring semester is my favorite semester, hands down. Don't get me wrong, I love the fall, especially because I am a biiiiig football girl, but the spring offers so many things that just make my heart soar, and I'm sure it does the same for so many others. As you get ready to jump into the second semester, let me tell you a few things that make spring semester the best semester on OU's campus!

1. The Cold

Even though it's called, "Spring semester" beginning in January is anything but "spring-y". Oklahoma winters don't usually go into full force until late January-early February, so while you will definitely end the semester in shorts and Chacos, you'll still be able to kick classes off with your favorite leggings and an oversized sweatshirt with a Starbucks' coffee cup in hand. If we're being completely honest, walking to class all bundled up and still freezing is a welcome change to the sweltering humidity and backpack sweat that we endure in the fall semester...am I right?

2. Soonerthon

Okay, so I'm a little biased towards Soonerthon because I've been working with the exec team since September but it is one of the most fun and exciting events of the spring semester (no joke)! The 12-hour dance marathon raises money for the Children's Miracle Foundation through students participants and sponsors. We work all year long trying to raise as much as we can for the kids, and on March 3, we spend 12 hours dancing, playing, and loving some of the sweet kiddos whose lives have been changed by Soonerthon and the Children's Miracle Hospital in Oklahoma City. 12 hours sounds really intimidating to an introvert, but you definitely do not have to stay the entire time and once you meet the miracle kids you will fall in love with Soonerthon just like I did!

3. Mom's Day

If you say that you don't miss your mom while at college...you're lying. Mom's Day is such a sweet time to spend with the woman who saved you from sunburn all these years. Most Greek organizations have cute t-shirts and plans for students and their mommas, but CAC also plans events all weekend to make sure that you and mom have no shortage of fun options! Mom's Day also happens to be the same weekend as the spring football game, so if you and your mom are #sportsanimals definitely take her to that. Moms are too good to us, so this weekend is so nice to show them that we really do love and appreciate them so much.

4. Scandals

*insert jazz hands and fake smile* Sooner Scandals is a theatrical show where student organizations pair up with one another and create a completely original script based off of a central theme. Students create the show, perform original and cover songs, and showcase their talents in this amazing performance. Show week is often during the same weekend as Mom's Day, so bring your momma, bring your friends, watch your friends, and be dazzled.

5. The Big Event

Can I give a shoutout to my fellow Acts of Service love languagers?? The Big Event is OU's largest day of community service. Hundreds of students dedicate the majority of their day to serving the community around them and giving to those in need. Each organization is given a job site-every one different- and serves in a variety of ways. Some students serve in pregnancy centers, organizing and sorting donations, and others plant trees or pick up trash. Last year, I moved dirt around for six hours...not a job for everyone, but I signed up to serve and serve we did. The Big Event really is a day of selflessness and service, and I would so encourage you to sign up, even if you aren't completely sold on the idea! Our community does so much for the University of Oklahoma and its students, and giving back for six hours is the least that we can do!

6. Relay For Life

Lots of philanthropic events on this list, I know, but I promise that they are all AMAZING and so worth your time. Relay for Life partners with the American Cancer Association to raise as much money for cancer patients and their families as possible. Like Soonerthon, the exec team works year-round to make this event the best and most exciting fundraiser possible! I participated for the first time last Spring and ended up cutting 12 inches of my long locks off to make wigs for cancer patients who had lost their hair during treatment. Donating my hair to Pantene's Locks of Length was one of the best ways that I could help these beautiful women in their battle. Locks of Length is the only organization that provides 100% free wigs for cancer patients, and Relay for Life is a great opportunity for students to be made aware of how they can help patients battle this disease! There is live music, food, games, booths, and so many more fun things for you to do at Relay! It is such a celebration of life and hope for these cancer patients, and I so encourage participating.

7. The Flowers

OU Landscaping does one heck of a job making sure that the commute to your 8 am final is nothing short of inspiring! Spring offers a stunning array of flora throughout the state, but goodness does the University of Oklahoma sure know how to arrange a good flower bed. While you might be dead toward the end of the semester, the campus is anything but; carnations and mums and peonies litter the South Oval and the building fronts throughout the campus. The grass is green, the trees are full, and students are rejuvenated by the beauty around them!

8. Hammock Villages

If there is one college investment that I would highly recommend, it is a hammock. Even if you don't fully fit that ~ granola~ hipster aesthetic, lounging around in a hammock while reading your Intro to Nutrition textbook makes schoolwork so much more relaxing and enjoyable. An added bonus is that people who hammock together stay together. Truly. The area between Neilson Hall and the clock tower is the place to be once the weather warms up. When I say that there is a hammock village, I'm not exaggerating. Catch all of your friends camped out in a hammock day after day (probably napping) just relaxing and enjoying the spring!

9. Chacos

This one is a little redundant because every season is Chaco season (winter="sockos"), but the spring is prime Chaco time! Store away the fuzzy socks and break out the nail polish because nobody wants naked toenails to ruin their Chaco aesthetic. Let's face it, you have pale, pasty feet because of winter...it's okay, everyone does. That just gives you all the more reason to break out the Chacos as soon as possible and be the first to achieve the perfect "Chaco tan". I would suggest wearing Chacos while in the hammock village...bold, I know. I'm just trying to help your Instagram story game...

10. Camp Crimson

Camp, camp, camp!!! Camp Crimson applications come out near the middle of the spring semester, and I would apply as soon as you can! Camp Crimson is the university's summer camp for incoming freshmen. Camp gave me some of my best friends and really allowed me to feel at home on campus before my freshman year even began. It is so so much fun, and the people that you will meet are so inspiring and amazing. I cannot encourage being involved with camp enough, your co-counselors, OG's, camp staff will encourage and push you to be the best version of yourself possible. Your campers will love you (hopefully), and you will learn so much about how to celebrate others as they are, and own your personal brand of weird. So look out for applications, apply, and get pumped because camp never stops!