Last Blog: My Thanksgiving Break

So this is the end of Thanksgiving break. All week long I have been trying to dismiss the fact that I have a lot of homework to do to be ready for next week. On top of trying to keep up with the workload I’ve been very sick. However it seems as though school comes first and my health is not of much importance. I have had it in my mind that to make things easier for me I should do my work early on in the week. With that mindset the earliest day of the week that I decided to do my work was Wednesday. That day was dedicated to me starting on my Write to Serve project. I had everything needed to complete the assignment but once I got frustrated with trying to adjust the first couple of boxes I gave up. I was just satisfied that I started on the project. While all of this is going on mind you that I’m very sick so that didn’t add to the motivation of getting a good amount of work done. I then thought that I would pick up on my homework assignments on Friday since I knew I’d be busy on Thursday. Friday came and went and I was still sick and I didn’t feel like doing homework so I didn’t. Saturday came around and I woke up around 1 pm to start on my 3 page draft for the English paper over stress and that didn’t turn out to well. It has been very hard for me to stay focused just because I was stressed about everything else I had to do and me feeling like crap. After pushing myself to do more work my sister called me to go to the mall and since I don’t see her as much as I want to I went with her and spent the rest of the day shopping. As of now I am still in the process of finishing work for my classes tomorrow but I can’t really complain because I brought it upon myself.

 In at least three of my courses we have been discussing stress factors and I feel like this is the greatest time to be talking about coping mechanisms because college is surely causing a lot of stress and hell in my life right now. In order to stay on top of your game sacrifices have to be made. When the end of the semester comes it will be one of the happiest moments of my life because I need a REAL break.

Projects

This week has been the best out of many. Everything has come and gone at an easy pace. However now it’s nearing the end and there are a lot of things I need to look into to get on track. There are so many things going on that are now frustrating me. I have two projects due in one class as well as a project for my Intro to Psychology class. Although the projects may not seem difficult it’s very time consuming to me. For one project I have to interview someone that has studied abroad, I have sent off 3 emails and no one has contacted me yet. I don’t know if they don’t have time or if they don’t check their email but it’s frustrating because I want to get some things out of the way so that I’m not stressed out. As for this other project which is called Write to Serve my topic is procrastination and while I have all my sources I need to start actually working on my template so that I’m able to get to the library and print my poster. Being a commuter student makes this issue more nerve wracking because I’m not able to just walk 5 minutes to the library and print it whenever time allows. In order not to have this issue next year I am really going to push my dad into letting me stay on campus I honestly think it would be best for me.

            Thanksgiving break is also coming up and while I should be excited I’m not. I guess I’m not excited as I should be because I know I have homework to do over the holidays which makes it seem like I really don’t have a break at all. I suppose this is way Prof. Barry tried to push us to work on our assignments ahead of time so all of our work isn’t piled up amongst each other. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon when I get home I won’t procrastinate and I’ll start with my projects so I’ll be free for the Black Friday and the weekend.

Frustrating Week

This week has been very frustrating for me. I’ve been trying to stay on top of everything but I haven’t been motivated to do much of anything.  Since I don’t have class on Tuesdays or Thursdays I try to put in some work when really all I want to do is enjoy my time away from school and doing work. This week I’ve been focusing on my least favorite subject, Math and this 5-6 page essay for FREX and English Composition. It’s hard to even stay focused on a paper that is that long without sounding or being repetitive. Now I’m stuck trying to bring new ideas into the paper which leads to me look into more information that I’m not into doing. I know this is all a part of college life but I’m kind of at my breaking point. To make matters worse while on the verge of talking about being at my breaking point I spent a lot of time studying for my math exam. I came to school on the days I could’ve been at home relaxing and I went to tutoring and worked with a classmate on our review for the test. It did feel good to go to tutoring and actually understand what’s going on. Often time I wonder why the student instructors don’t teach class because they’re way better at understanding our questions and answering them precisely and making sure they teach us in a way that we will understand the work. With all this help and preparation I still didn’t feel like I was prepared for the exam. Once I got the exam in front me I realized that it was nothing like what I reviewed. I wasn’t the only one who had this feeling. A lot of students left unsatisfied and pissed. I just don’t know how to get through to this professor and when I stay after class and ask for him he acts like he doesn’t understand what I’m reiterating to him. When I get that type of feedback from a professor I feel like my money is being wasted. However this is my birthday week and I want it to go as smooth as possible so I’m going to make it good and not stress too much.

Thoughts on Turkle and Solove

In English Comp we have been discussing new technology and social media. Along with this topic of discussion we have to write a paper about its effects on college students academically and then just the overall effects of social media. Prof. Barry then introduces two chapters from two different books one written by Daniel Solove and Sherry Turkle. Daniel Solove makes a very good point with his story about the dog poop girl. I think that this should open people’s eyes to what really goes on around them. It almost seems as though we’re not as free as we think. If someone can just take your picture and post for the whole world to see that’s a problem. I know for a fact that I would not want anybody taking my picture without my consent and showcasing my business to billions of people. I can understand that they were trying to prove a point but they singlehandedly ruined this girls life. I mean yes it was very trifling for her to leave the dog poop on the subway but she’s only human. People are not taking in account how this could affect her life and sometimes these things lead to depression which slowly but surely kills you and then at times it even could lead to suicide. You never know what someone is going through and even though I know our society is so judgmental we could at least try and be more considerate.

 As I was sitting in at the Krost Symposium I realized that a lot of what they were pointing out was so very true but I myself never had to worry about what I posted or uploaded on FB, Twitter, or MySpace. The way I was brought up was to respect myself and to realize that even when I my doubt myself at times that I don’t have to have revealing pictures and post my business for the entire world to see. Like Sherry Turkle said it’s like we try to validate our feelings by trying to get other people’s approval. While at times that’s true, for me I write what I feel and whoever agrees with me understand my logic. But will everybody see what Turkle and Solove are trying to convey? The answer is no because people do what they want to do and what appeals to them. People are too quick to make the wrong statement and they don’t care. I think it’ll take more than just a book and speech to change the world.

Time Management

Last week I received my grade for the mid-term exam and I was happy to find out that I made a 98. That lets me know that I’m doing something right and I understand what it is that I’m required to do to get through this course. However now it seems like everything is getting more extreme. All of these papers and projects are beginning to be too much. Last Friday we talked about time management and how we should do work when we have the time but I see a problem with that. After being at school all day and having to focus and concentrate on work nobody wants to put in the extra effort to do more of it. We are obligated to take a break and start doing our work whenever we feel like it. I guess that’s where the issue comes in. I know for a fact that once I “take a break” from my work I take a permanent break from my work. I probably won’t even finish my homework until the day before it’s due. The only legit thing to look to for motivation for better time management is to get better grades. However it works out for those who wait late to do their homework, sometimes the feeling of completion is all we need to feel good about ourselves. During this time management discussion Kaitlen often mentioned actually making a schedule and she also asked who used a planner. Well I was one of the students that raised my hand to notify that I used a planner but my definition of using a planner is writing things down when it’s convenient to me. I’m the type of person where on some days I write down my work and other days I take a note in my head and go through what we discussed in each class. As before stated Kaitlen said that we should make a schedule to help out too, well I have a schedule but I don’t use it as much as I want to. Sometimes I’m on board and it does help me advance in school  but on most of my days I’m not feeling studious so I don’t even bother. Time management is very important and crucial to college students but you have to be willing to put forth the effort and attempt to do something about your academic life.

Dr. Rochin's Advice

A few weeks ago we had guest speaker Dr. Rochin come in and speak to our FREX class about his life reach and how he got started in his profession. That ultimately led us to the discussion of how to become more involved with our profession or major. He told us the three key things that would give us a good head start on accomplishing our goals. Number one the first thing to do is build up on your associations by looking for scholarships that maybe justify your major basically it’s like finding an internship. The second goal is language you have to understand the language of your profession or major so that you know what you’re doing. In a sense you’re letting people know that you are serious about what you’re doing and you’re willing to pursue it. As of now I’m majoring in Sociology and to be honest I’m not too sure about its language. I feel like I’m still undecided about what it is that I really want to pursue a career in. However I think that an interview with Professor Boehm which is the sociology professor here at TLU will help me obtain a good feel for this major so that I can understand it better. Lastly, Dr. Rochin mentioned building up your contacts by networking. It’s good to get to know the people that share the same interest as you. It’s also good to search for internships and look into maybe understudying a professor in your major for good guidance. Sometimes who you know can get you very far and I believe Dr.Rochin shared that with us as well.

By not having any good insight on my major it’s difficult to begin this three step process. I guess that’s why everyone is told to be sure they’re doing what they want to do and explore which is why I can also understand why TLU is a liberal arts university. It’s not to scare us away but it’s to get us to recognize what connects to us to make us pursue a certain career. This is just the first step of many to get me going. In order to learn you have to explore and search and once I’m done with that then I can take the advice of Dr.Rochin.

               

Midterm Break

Today is the last day of mid-semester break and I’m very agitated. Before the break even occurred I had two test to prepare for which was not a problem for me because I’d rather take my test before the break rather than after. That way seems more logical to me just because when most students take any break away from school they’re not focused on school related issues which is why I don’t understand why my math professor assigned a test Monday. I would think he would take the break into consideration and maybe push the test back to Wednesday or Friday. My break didn’t feel like a break at all. There will always be professors that require you to do some type of assignment during what’s supposed to be a student’s time to relax and have fun to do whatever it is that they want.  I had plans to do a lot during the break and I ended up not doing anything. I was supposed to visit my sister at UT in Austin and stay with her but my plans were canceled. After not being able to drive up to Austin I just spent time with my family. When I wasn’t with family I was sleeping or doing homework. I’ve also been studying for my upcoming math exam that I’m not too excited about. I should feel proud of myself for actually taking the time out and forcing myself to do this work that I can’t seem to escape but I’m actually mad at how much stress that’s building up.  It feels like everything goes by so fast and there is no time to be free and do fun things. Now I have to face reality and get back to sitting through boring lectures and doing assignments that to me serves no purpose. I know college is more demanding and time consuming but I expected a lot more than what I’m getting now. I’m so ready for the next break we have coming up even though yet again I know that I’ll be doing assignments. I don’t know why I haven’t transitioned into college like I thought I would, I think I expected too much out of myself.  I’m realizing that for any incoming freshman you must be open-minded to new experiences and take it one step at a time because if you don’t you will be thrown off track.

Midterms and Midsemester Break

This week I had my midterm for lab. It was very stressful to study for this test. I have never taken a test like this before there were 2 different parts that included a written and a practical. On the written there were a few multiple choice questions and the rest were fill in the blank that did not include a word bank. I can understand fill in the blank questions with a word bank but to have 60 questions like that is ridiculous. You would have to read the 6 chapters thoroughly in order to pass. For the practical you had to know all the bones in the body and the different parts of the bone, cells of the body, body organs, and the organs of the rat. So we walked around the room to identify the different parts of each and the exam was over. Before I took the exam I heard about how hard it was especially the practical but I thought the practical was easier than the written. After studying and getting through that exam I had to start studying for yet another exam, anatomy and physiology. Even though it’s open book and notes it’s still really hard. There are 100 questions so if you didn’t know an answer to a question you would need to look through everything but then you’re wasting time searching and losing out on answer all the other questions. This class besides math is the only class I really have to focus on because entails so much memorization. Along with studying for this exam I have to juggle all my other work into the schedule.  Such as the four page English paper that’s due next Wednesday. It’s hard to find a set schedule or time for me to get my work done because when I’m out of class I just feel lazy and every time I say I’ll get something done I don’t and I wait til the last minute when I’m tired. I’m so happy to be that the midsemester break is coming up because I need a break from all the stress. I don’t want to even think about homework, studying, or TLU at all. A break is a break and I’m just ready to get Monday through Wednesday over with so I can finally feel free.

Study Habits

So this week in FREX class we discussed getting out of our comfort zone while studying. Usually I listen to music while I study and since I like to sing I end up singing along to the music. However I have my times where I’m able to tune the music out and just focus on my work but it is probably better if I just work without music. With the suggestion that I should try new study habits I tried the “no music while studying” suggestion and I was able to get a lot of studying done. I also told myself that I would study without my phone and my friends but that was very unsuccessful. Throughout the week after all of my classes are over I stay on campus and do homework in the library  with one of my friends, for three hours and although we have good intentions to get our work done we end up talking about things that have nothing to do with our work.  I know I should spend more of  my time focusing on my work but I after being at school all day I would much rather talk to my friends. That’s something that I will need to work on but I doubt that will change. I feel like I have to study on my own terms without someone telling me. If I’m not in the mood to study or do homework I guarantee you that I won’t do it. If you wait to do something when you are ready you are more likely to get your work done and focus. Whenever I have made myself do something against my own will I just did it because I was forced to and I didn’t put much effort into it. At the end of the day I screwed myself over but I’ve learned to pace myself so that I don’t feel overwhelmed. No matter how much I may procrastinate I know that I will get everything done…on my own time. So with all of this information that I have digested I think that my study habits will be my study habits done my way. If I’m not comfortable then my studying is not effective and if my studying is not effective then my grades are not good. Basically it’s my way or no way at all.

Sacrifices

This week has been the most stressful week so far. I had three tests this week and I’m happy with most of the results. I thought that maybe since this week has been so busy with test taking that maybe my professors would calm down with the homework. I fail to realize that everything is nonstop here. After this week of seeing how testing works I am determined to set better study habits. A lot people tell me to set a time limit to when I study but that’s not something that I do. When I have work to do I do it at the best time suitable for me. I can make myself do something that I don’t want to do in a given amount of time. I have to work on my own terms because I know I will get my work done I just don’t need the extra pressure. I’m already making sacrifices, realizing that there is no time for extracurricular activity I decided not to stay in Shabach because I wanted to focus more on my work. Half the time when I get out of class I’m just ready to go home I don’t want to stay at the school till 9 and be too tired to drive home. So with Shabach out of the way I have more time to focus on school work. However I do plan on getting back into the choir when I get used to managing my work and school. I also want to look into joining other clubs in getting into more activities just so that I can feel like I’m a part of something. At times I wish that I stayed in basketball I liked the feeling of being around teammates that turn into good friends and basketball was actually something I was really good at it. I’m sure that my brother and my dad will push me to get back into but I feel like it’s too late for that and like I said I just want to focus on my work. When I find that balance I think I’ll be good. I will be stress free and I won’t have to worry about falling behind and being too tired to do work. I’m just not used to change but I’m still trying to adjust to college life. As I sign off on this blog I will be doing homework and hopefully I will be able to go out and do something of interest because work, work, work, and no play is not how I want to spend my weekend. However this is the life of a college student making sacrifices to get your work done.

Too Much Work

School is so frustrating!! I feel like I have no life. I have been trying to keep myself together all day. Friday as soon as I got home I decided that I was going to just relax and worry about all my work and studying for Saturday. Well although I woke up early enough to start my studying for my Anatomy and Physiology test I quickly found myself being very distracted. Regardless of the fact that I was distracted I keep pushing myself to get through at least one chapter. When I tell myself to push through my work it almost seems rushed. I know for a fact that when I rush through my readings I don’t pay attention! So I have to take a moment and tell myself to really focus on what I have to do. As I’m posting this now I’m still trying to get work done. I just thought since I know tomorrow is going to be even more hectic and draining that I’d get this out of the way. The feeling of being overwhelmed is not good when you have 3 exams to be worried about. My exams are as follows math on Monday, anatomy and physiology on Tuesday, and psychology on Wednesday. I am not excited about this week at all. I can’t wait till it’s all over! My sister, a student UTSA, makes studying and doing homework so easy. Seeing her do so well makes me ask myself is there something wrong me because I just don’t have the motivation to do this half the time. As much as I don’t want to let work pile up it just happens anyway. My positive mind and thinking quickly fades when a lot of work is put on my plate. At home my family sees my frustration. They question me every day and they try to help me get through my college experiences but I honestly just don’t want to hear it. I love the fact that they push me and try to motivate me to do better but I think when your mind is so wrapped up in trying to do so good in everything knowing that there’s a lot of work involved in every subject it’s pointless. I kind of feel like words won’t this situation. Smh (shaking my head) I need to do something to get over this lack of enthusiasm to learn and do work because this is definitely out of character for me!

Reactions to College Life Week 3:Bad and Good

    This week has been a mess!! Everyday I wake up I think to myself it's going to be a good day but once I step into class I get the feeling that something is wrong. Usually when I get that feeling I'm right. Over the labor day weekend my math professor assigned a project for us to do with one other partner. He assigned this assignment at the end of class stating that class would be canceled for Friday because he would be attending a funeral. Nobody in the class knew anything about this project's meaning. I couldn't understand why he would just give us assignment and not explain how to do it! I was pretty upset about that because I for one hate math with a passion. I don't think I have ever hated something so much in my life, math is just that one thing I must focus on. So my partner and I strained our brains trying to do this project only to find out that we would get no where. We had met up with  other classmates to help us better understand it but that only got us so far. Come Wednesday when it's time to turn the project in my partner and I had an incomplete project. Now I know that I probably should have emailed him but I thought that out of respect that I would let him deal with the loss of a close friend or family member without any disruptions with school work. With an incomplete project turned in my partner and I talked to the professor about the assignment and he reluctantly sent out a email to let us retry the project. That was very much appreciated! So for the remainder of the week I had been staying on campus later than usual to get extra help on my math assignments and to get work done ahead of time.
   On the bright side of my college experience I was offered to sing with the Shebach Gospel Choir. Although I love to sing I'm afraid of new environments. However once I got to the practice I loved it. Everyone was real down to earth and happy to be there. I knew as soon as we started harmonizing and feeling the music that I was going to be dedicated to being apart of the choir. I guess at sometimes even when you're afraid of something you have to be able to put your guard down and be open to new things...that's how you learn.

Reactions to College Life

 From day one I have been skeptical about "College Life". I don't know what it is that made me just want to relive high school life all over again. I honestly think that I was in shock. I couldn't grasp the fact that I'm actually done with what seems like the easier years of my life, relying on family and friends to help me get through everything is no longer a option for me. College is so much different then high school. I just feel like I'm starting all over again but this time I'm really on my own.  I walked onto the TLU campus completely alone. Then for me to see everybody already in their cliques just made me feel out of place. Since I am deathly shy it's hard for me to just approach people and spark up a conversation and that put me at a big disadvantage.  It would have been easier for me to meet new people if I was staying on campus but for some reason which seems absolutely ridiculous to me now I decided to commute back and forth from San Antonio. That had to be the dumbest decision I've made since school started but my dad played a big part in that decision as well. His feelings are going to be hurt when I tell him I'm looking for a roommate. He just needs to learn to let go I won't be gone forever!! Anyways back to this "College Life" talk, I have never felt so drained in my life!! There is so much to keep up on, I feel like I never get a break. When I do take a break and I want to do something fun I'm always too tired and I go straight to my bed, I just can't win for losing! Don't get me wrong I know how to pace myself and get my work done but this is on a whole other level. Back in high school I could go to basketball practice, choir rehearsal, work, club meetings, hang out with friends, and still have time to do all of my assignment's. However now I'm not involved in anything and although I do have one good friend here I'm still overwhelmed with work, trying to keep up. It seems like it's the end of the world.People always tell me "it will get better with time" and in the back of my head I'm saying "what are you talking about? I don't have time to do much of anything!" Frustration runs high within me but because I live through faith I do believe that "it will get better with time", it's only the beginning and I have so much more ahead of me so I guess I should just get myself together, stop talking, and just do because time does not wait for anyone.