The beginning of a new semester may allow many students the opportunity to reinvent themselves a little bit from who they were four months ago or even a year ago.

You may want to get more involved in activities on campus, go to the gym more often, or try harder in your classes because getting that 4.0 last semester was absolutely worth it. While wanting to reinvent yourself is an admirable goal, there is something that needs to be said: Don’t overwork yourself.

The day you pick your classes for the next semester can be exciting, and from this you might not give the selection the full 100% it needs. Taking a lot of classes to get ahead sound great in the short run, however actually doing the work in those classes can be one of the key factors in student burnout. The course load gets to the point where it’s too much that you don’t even know where to begin and thus fall behind in classes that you end up hurting yourself in the long run. Now, keep in mind, it’s next to impossible to avoid a semester in your entire school career where the course load is a little heavy, but it doesn’t need to be that way for every semester.

On top of classes, there are extracurricular activities you must think about. Getting involved on campus is one of the most beneficial choices a student can make for themselves and their future. It allows you the chance to find what you want to do and let you learn outside of the classroom, meet people who share your interests, and open doors in the field that might not have been open before. Now, you don’t have to be president of every organization or chairman of every committee, but going to a meeting every now and then can only benefit you in the end.

Combine this with having a job and, maybe family obligations, it’s easy to see where you might start to crumble. At what risk is it worth to stand out apart from everyone else? Sure, making good grades is great and getting involved is nice at the beginning, but you must think about what is it going to be like a month from now, or during finals week? Don’t overload yourself with classes and obligations without thinking about the future.