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.