Part 1
Semester #5 at Shepherd is coming to an end. I've only got a week of finals left. 7 days from now I'll be home.
And in the past couple days (since English yesterday morning) I've realized that maybe I've learned a lot more here than I really believed.
And since I'm done for the day and not ready to study yet, I feel like sharing my 'wisdom' (I use the term loosely). This is a very condensed list that will probably grow quite a bit.
1. The best professors aren't always the easiest. It's better to at least learn something (even if it's just about yourself) than to breeze through and not take a thing with you except another decimal point for your GPA. When people say teachers are horrible, that doesn't mean they really are. Too many people just don't want to do the work. Sometimes a challenge is better than a break of a class.
2. Extra Credit is your friend. No matter how high your grade is, you're better off giving yourself a cushion.
3. Procrastination is the root of all evil. While waiting until the last possible minute so that you don't 'second guess' yourself sounds like a good idea, you're luck of impressive wording in 2 am papers will run out eventually.
4. But when you can't get motivated until the last minute, taking out stock in energy drinks or coffee may not be such a bad move for you. Plus, the economy will thank you.
5. Do what you're interested in. If you love English but can't think of a damn thing to do with it, get your degree in it anyway. You'll find something eventually and though it might seem tough and impractical, being happy with what you do from classes to careers is better than making a fortune in business.
6. Living in a dorm is only as bad as you make it. There's something good in everything. I'm usually an insane cynic, but this much even I can admit.
7. You become who you hang with. Find yourself and I promise there is someone/a group of someones interested and compatible with you.
8. Just because it seems like the entire campus is coupled up, it's just not true. And just because you're single does not mean you have some plague. It happens when it happens. Chances are if you're not comfortable enough with who you are and what you're doing to be single, then you're not ready to tie yourself to someone else. That's false happiness and that's just sad.
9. When you hate classes, just wait for evaluation time. That's your chance to say what you truly think. Don't just dis a class because it's hard, really think about what you've put into it and why you have the grade. Give the course/teacher the eval they deserve.
10. Not all sororities/fraternities are evil. Some of the members are nutcases, but some of them are nice people. Just don't fall under their spell. You don't have to go Greek just to prove you're in college.
11. Don't put more into your relationships than other people do. Namely, this means friendships. Everything is a two-way street. It might hurt to lose your friends, but if they don't want to work/try to keep the ties, then you shouldn't stress it.
12. Farther away is not always better. Maybe you hate home and want to go 5 hours away, but it might not be as grand as you make it out to be.
13. Slackers finish last. Self explanatory.
14. Go to class. I'm a chronic skipper and I can definitely say that while attendance isn't always mandatory, you just can't learn the material if you're not there.
15. Suck ups don't get better grades just because they act like they are the poster children for talking up everything. They're usually just trying to impress the professor and they know this. Professors aren't as daft as we like to sometimes think they are.
16. Cheating/Plagiarism is wrong. Sure, paying someone $30/writing a $30 paper for someone seems easy enough, people will remember it. Depending which side of it you're one, you're friends are either going to brand you a slacker or abuse how nice you are. carry yourself through school, don't carry other people.
17. Your adviser can make or break you. Ask them questions when you need to and make sure you understand it before leaving. If you can't connect to your adviser or just aren't comfortable with them, change it. I'm sure there's someone in your department that you're meshy with.
18. Be nice to Financial Aid/Registrar/Business offices and they'll be nice to you.
19. Get involved in something. There's a club for just about anything and you'll have a better time and know more people if you're not just sitting around bored out of your mind or with your books 24/7. Down time is good, but it's also good to do something productive with it. Just don't overbook yourself.
20. Time management and Money management are life skills you'll always need. Get a jump start on these. They'll get you far if you don't always have to worry about where you need to be, when you're going to get the time to do it, how you have insufficient funds for it, and what you're going to do to actually make the fast money.
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
More will come eventually since I'm feeling extremely retrospective right now. But it's time to go celebrate the end.
♥
And in the past couple days (since English yesterday morning) I've realized that maybe I've learned a lot more here than I really believed.
And since I'm done for the day and not ready to study yet, I feel like sharing my 'wisdom' (I use the term loosely). This is a very condensed list that will probably grow quite a bit.
1. The best professors aren't always the easiest. It's better to at least learn something (even if it's just about yourself) than to breeze through and not take a thing with you except another decimal point for your GPA. When people say teachers are horrible, that doesn't mean they really are. Too many people just don't want to do the work. Sometimes a challenge is better than a break of a class.
2. Extra Credit is your friend. No matter how high your grade is, you're better off giving yourself a cushion.
3. Procrastination is the root of all evil. While waiting until the last possible minute so that you don't 'second guess' yourself sounds like a good idea, you're luck of impressive wording in 2 am papers will run out eventually.
4. But when you can't get motivated until the last minute, taking out stock in energy drinks or coffee may not be such a bad move for you. Plus, the economy will thank you.
5. Do what you're interested in. If you love English but can't think of a damn thing to do with it, get your degree in it anyway. You'll find something eventually and though it might seem tough and impractical, being happy with what you do from classes to careers is better than making a fortune in business.
6. Living in a dorm is only as bad as you make it. There's something good in everything. I'm usually an insane cynic, but this much even I can admit.
7. You become who you hang with. Find yourself and I promise there is someone/a group of someones interested and compatible with you.
8. Just because it seems like the entire campus is coupled up, it's just not true. And just because you're single does not mean you have some plague. It happens when it happens. Chances are if you're not comfortable enough with who you are and what you're doing to be single, then you're not ready to tie yourself to someone else. That's false happiness and that's just sad.
9. When you hate classes, just wait for evaluation time. That's your chance to say what you truly think. Don't just dis a class because it's hard, really think about what you've put into it and why you have the grade. Give the course/teacher the eval they deserve.
10. Not all sororities/fraternities are evil. Some of the members are nutcases, but some of them are nice people. Just don't fall under their spell. You don't have to go Greek just to prove you're in college.
11. Don't put more into your relationships than other people do. Namely, this means friendships. Everything is a two-way street. It might hurt to lose your friends, but if they don't want to work/try to keep the ties, then you shouldn't stress it.
12. Farther away is not always better. Maybe you hate home and want to go 5 hours away, but it might not be as grand as you make it out to be.
13. Slackers finish last. Self explanatory.
14. Go to class. I'm a chronic skipper and I can definitely say that while attendance isn't always mandatory, you just can't learn the material if you're not there.
15. Suck ups don't get better grades just because they act like they are the poster children for talking up everything. They're usually just trying to impress the professor and they know this. Professors aren't as daft as we like to sometimes think they are.
16. Cheating/Plagiarism is wrong. Sure, paying someone $30/writing a $30 paper for someone seems easy enough, people will remember it. Depending which side of it you're one, you're friends are either going to brand you a slacker or abuse how nice you are. carry yourself through school, don't carry other people.
17. Your adviser can make or break you. Ask them questions when you need to and make sure you understand it before leaving. If you can't connect to your adviser or just aren't comfortable with them, change it. I'm sure there's someone in your department that you're meshy with.
18. Be nice to Financial Aid/Registrar/Business offices and they'll be nice to you.
19. Get involved in something. There's a club for just about anything and you'll have a better time and know more people if you're not just sitting around bored out of your mind or with your books 24/7. Down time is good, but it's also good to do something productive with it. Just don't overbook yourself.
20. Time management and Money management are life skills you'll always need. Get a jump start on these. They'll get you far if you don't always have to worry about where you need to be, when you're going to get the time to do it, how you have insufficient funds for it, and what you're going to do to actually make the fast money.
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
More will come eventually since I'm feeling extremely retrospective right now. But it's time to go celebrate the end.
♥