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.