There’s a moment in every UC Berkeley student’s experience when they realize the novelty of college subsides. When the start of the semester’s busy flow recedes, consulting clubs no longer shove their recruitment flyers in your face as you walk down Sproul Plaza, and you don’t have to use Google Maps to navigate to your seemingly-optional classes anymore.
It’s not a bad thing. It even makes life at Berkeley digestible. But if you’ve found yourself wanting a break from that constant rhythm, here are a few ways to keep your semester feeling unique.
1. Get outside of Berkeley
A great way to keep Berkeley’s novelty is by leaving it! Weekends don’t have to be spent at Tap Haus or a frat every single time. Here are some ideas:
Alameda Point Antiques Faire
On the first Sunday of every month, Northern California’s largest antique market is a quick 25-minute car ride from Berkeley. With more than 800 vendors selling vintage clothing, knickknacks, vinyl records, furniture and games, I promise you, there is something for everyone. Not to mention, Alameda Point Waterfront overlooks the San Francisco skyline in the distance.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
You can never go wrong with a trip to MoMA, but you certainly can’t on Free Community Days when the museum offers free museum-wide admission to all of its visitors. Just ensure you bring your Cal ID alongside your Clipper card, because the museum is right off the Montgomery BART station on the Red Line.
Haight-Ashbury
My personal favorite events revolve around window shopping and clothing. A great way to break out of the typical Berkeley spots, such as Anastasia’s Vintage and Crossroads Trading, is going to Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, a street filled with vintage stores that I could spend hours perusing.
2. Subtle routine changes
Sometimes the easiest way to make the semester feel new again is changing the small everyday steps in your routine.
Take a different route to class
UC Berkeley is so much more than the big three of Dwinelle Hall, Wheeler Hall and Evans Hall. It’s all too natural to stick to the same paths each day, prioritizing efficiency over curiosity. Next time you want to add a little bit of novelty to your day-to-day life, take the long way to class. Walk past buildings you’ve never had a reason to enter or give yourself a few extra minutes to notice what’s around you.
Cafe and library hopping
If your study routine has been on autopilot since week three, consider this your sign to change things up. There is no shortage of cafes and libraries, yet most of us stick to Doe Library or Caffè Strada. Try rotating spots throughout the week and you may be surprised how much a new environment can make even the repetitive labs and readings feel a bit more refreshing.
Micro social changes
Sprucing up routine can always be done with some company. Need this week’s groceries run? Invite that friend from Golden Bear Orientation you never see anymore. Text that one person you always sit next to in discussion to come study for the midterm together. Tasks may be repetitive, but the interactions don’t have to be.
3. Romanticize campus again
Any person seeing Valley Life Sciences Building for the first time is awestruck by its size and beauty, but maybe on the 20th, 50th or 100th sighting it becomes less impressive. That may be a sign it’s time to bring back romanticizing campus and here is how you can accomplish that:
Audit lectures
Sometimes we forget that we are taught by world-renowned professors and researchers who are making strides in the frontier of their field. Next time you have some free time on your hands, step into a random lecture, sit in the back and take in information for the sake of learning, no frantic note-taking needed.
Sit somewhere you normally wouldn’t
Romanticizing campus can be as simple as changing where you exist within it. You don’t have to spend those 30-minute to hourlong gaps between classes in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union or on the Dwinelle benches. Sit at the picnic tables at North Gate and people-watch, guessing about the passing students’ lives with a friend. It’s small and silly, but it can remind you that campus is full of liveliness, not just assignments and due dates.
Ditch the headphones
I know, preposterous. I am hesitating to even suggest this because I spend 24/7 with earbuds blasting Fleetwood Mac. As hypocritical as I may be, unplugging every now and then can shift your appreciation to the rustle of the leaves on windy days or the unique charm of the clamor on Telegraph Avenue. Without a curated soundtrack, campus can both sound and feel a little different, and you might find the ordinary walks have a little more character than what you remember.
For the new students on campus, UC Berkeley may be settling into a constant routine. For the seniors, it has been routine for the past three years. Despite this, it doesn’t have to feel ordinary. Big changes — and even small ones — can bring back the sense of novelty you felt the first time you walked through Sather Gate.