If you’re anything like us at the Clog, the prospect of starting another online semester is not exciting, to say the least. We’re all yearning for those days of sprinting across campus to our classes, searching for the last available seat in Moffitt and so much more. But we like to look at the bright side of things, so as we sit back down at our desks and open up our computers once again, here is why we believe the spring semester is objectively better than the fall.

The primary argument that can be made here is that the spring semester has a much more even distribution of breaks. We even start with a break, getting the first Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day! After that, we have Presidents Day in mid-February, followed by the entire week of spring break in late March. By this point, all you have to get through is the month of April until classes end, then all of a sudden, it’s finals week and we’re done! So when you think about the semester in terms of these rather nicely-spaced breaks, it’s really not so long at all.

Speaking of breaks, the spring semester has a very special light at the end of its tunnel. Sure, this past month of winter break has been nice, but it’s nothing compared to the three months of summer break waiting for us at the end! Even if your summer is spent working or taking classes, hopefully, you’ll have enough added free time to make it something worth looking forward to.

Here in Berkeley, we have pretty good weather all year long, but with students scattered throughout the country and even the world this year, the weather will generally be getting better for everyone throughout the semester. Longer days, warmer temperatures and fewer clouds in the sky will provide increased incentive to get outside, maybe for some recreational activities and socially-distanced hangouts. Regardless of what you choose to do, watching the weather get progressively better instead of worse should make the semester a little more bearable.

Lastly, having less time between the fall and spring semesters than between the spring and fall semesters makes starting up again feel a little bit less like jumping off the deep end of a pool. Winter break provides us with just enough time to recover and relax, but not so much that we’ve forgotten how to take notes altogether. This means it should be easier to get back into the swing of things, making the start of the spring semester less of a total shock to the system.

While an online semester isn’t ideal for anyone, at least we’re in the spring and not the fall anymore. We at the Clog are hoping that between the well-spaced breaks and the improving weather, you’ll find something to look forward to this spring semester!