Recently, when people asked me how my classes were going, I would just look at them for a few seconds and say, "I completely underestimated the workload in college." Compared to last semester, my workload has become much larger. In addition, I was unable to keep up with the pace of my classes. Just today, I found out that there was an assignment due that I have no idea about.
So here I am, writing to you guys about what I realized within the period of disappointment I felt about missing the due date of an assignment for the first time: I need to become more responsible for my own education. Had I taken it into my own hands to read through every one of my syllabi carefully and write down all the important dates, I wouldn't have missed this assignment. If I wanted to graduate college with a degree in hand, then I needed to learn to manage my own time better.
It might sound cliché since everyone that we ask about college would tell us that college teaches us how to be responsible and manage time. But let's be honest here. Even if a million of people told us that we will learn to be responsible in college, we wouldn't really understand it until we experience college for ourselves. All it took for me to recognize that I was on my own is for my college teacher to hand me a syllabus without explaining it and expecting me to understand it.
But I know that I would eventually have to grow up. I also know that understanding instructions on my own is what it takes to be a responsible adult. Nevertheless, this is hard for me to accept because it only took 8 months for me to go from a high school student who depended on his teacher to a college student that had to learn the rules of the classroom on his own.
At the same time, I am excited to see how I might change within these next three and a half years. I hope to become an independent student who my teachers and peers could depend on to get everything done on time or even better, early.
I am also wondering how you guys feel about this transition, especially since I know that I am not the only one who noticed a considerable increase of difficulty between my first semester in college and my second semester. Feel free to post comments about the changes you are going through right now or how you changed if you already experienced this kind of transition in college.
~Justin Chen
"The price of greatness is responsibility." -Winston Churchill
Friday, February 20, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
V-Day and Growing Up
Hey, everyone!
Late night Friday post. It's been a week full of surprises for me that I'm still processing. haha I may be graduating soon, but college still has a few things to show me before we part ways...
You know, ever since I turned 18, I've told myself "You're an adult now." But I haven't fully stepped into those shoes until recently. I'm not sure what's changed. I think it's just new experiences that have shown me new perspectives. I feel like I'm finally coming into my adult self. Feeling more like a woman than a girl. It makes me realize that we can't snap our fingers and suddenly become something. Most of the time, it happens slowly and without us noticing until the transformation has already happened.
On Sunday, I went to the first Macaulay Scholars Council meeting of the semester. Macaulay fed us pizza because they're awesome. :) There were some good ideas thrown around so I'm excited to see some new developments this semester.
Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Ooh la la. haha If you have a SO, enjoy some time together however you want to. Dinner, movies, cuddling on the couch, whatever you like.
If you're single, don't fret, spend the day doing whatever you like. And don't worry so much about being single. Life always has surprises for us....
Here are some dating tips that I wrote up last year. Enjoy. I'm no relationship expert but I think all college students see dating done so wrong so many times and we end up figuring out how it should be done.
May you all love and be loved the way that you want to. <3
S.
For this last semester, I've decided that I'll share one cool/interesting/thought-provoking thing that I happen to run across during the week:
A man writes a letter to his wife every day for nearly 40 years.
Late night Friday post. It's been a week full of surprises for me that I'm still processing. haha I may be graduating soon, but college still has a few things to show me before we part ways...
You know, ever since I turned 18, I've told myself "You're an adult now." But I haven't fully stepped into those shoes until recently. I'm not sure what's changed. I think it's just new experiences that have shown me new perspectives. I feel like I'm finally coming into my adult self. Feeling more like a woman than a girl. It makes me realize that we can't snap our fingers and suddenly become something. Most of the time, it happens slowly and without us noticing until the transformation has already happened.
On Sunday, I went to the first Macaulay Scholars Council meeting of the semester. Macaulay fed us pizza because they're awesome. :) There were some good ideas thrown around so I'm excited to see some new developments this semester.
Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Ooh la la. haha If you have a SO, enjoy some time together however you want to. Dinner, movies, cuddling on the couch, whatever you like.
If you're single, don't fret, spend the day doing whatever you like. And don't worry so much about being single. Life always has surprises for us....
Here are some dating tips that I wrote up last year. Enjoy. I'm no relationship expert but I think all college students see dating done so wrong so many times and we end up figuring out how it should be done.
May you all love and be loved the way that you want to. <3
S.
For this last semester, I've decided that I'll share one cool/interesting/thought-provoking thing that I happen to run across during the week:
A man writes a letter to his wife every day for nearly 40 years.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Sunny Side Up
Hi, everyone!
This post comes to you guys on a Saturday afternoon because I had this bad headache yesterday and only had the energy to write an essay for my WGS class. But now I feel better, thankfully. :)
Yesterday marked the end of our first full week of the semester. These first couple of weeks are always the best because there isn't too much work yet so things are a bit more relaxed. But this is also the time that we get a feel for the impending workload of the class and how to approach each class in such a way that there's enough time to do all the reading, writing, and thinking without becoming a ball of anxiety.
Last semester, I wrote two articles about student life that you should check out if you want some suggestions on how to organize yourself as a student and how to deal with tough days. Here and here.
In my last post, I mentioned that this semester, I want to be aware of my breath and be as present as I can in every moment. Part of that is learning how to eat with presence of mind. For us college students, it's easy to eat bad food or to rush through lunch or even to forget to eat at all. Eating is one of our most basic needs, and if we don't take the time to eat well, then everything else will suffer as well. So one of my other goals this semester is to be more aware of what kind of food I'm eating and to enjoy every bite of it instead of having my mind on an essay I have to write later. I also want to continue to learn how to cook from my mom, the Internet, TV, and wherever else I can. I find cooking to be relaxing and just a lot of fun. It's such a joy to know that I can make something on my own.
Actually, my mom and I are going to make some bread today, which I'm excited about. We haven't done it since the summer.
I've also been really in love with making eggs sunny side up the last few weeks. So yummy in a sandwich with cheese or salsa or whatever else your GI tract desires. haha
Another goal of mine is to continue to dress well and to pick great pieces that really add to my wardrobe. I've been great at doing that the last couple of years and I want to continue because it pushes me to be creative and makes me feel more confident as I take on the day ahead.
What else to tell you all?
Hmm...if you're looking for a new show to watch, definitely check out Empire. It's about a family in the hip hop music business, and it is fabulous. It's no wonder the ratings have broken records. It just started in January so there's plenty of time to catch up here.
S.
For this last semester, I've decided that I'll share one cool/interesting/thought-provoking thing that I happen to run across during the week:
This post comes to you guys on a Saturday afternoon because I had this bad headache yesterday and only had the energy to write an essay for my WGS class. But now I feel better, thankfully. :)
Yesterday marked the end of our first full week of the semester. These first couple of weeks are always the best because there isn't too much work yet so things are a bit more relaxed. But this is also the time that we get a feel for the impending workload of the class and how to approach each class in such a way that there's enough time to do all the reading, writing, and thinking without becoming a ball of anxiety.
Last semester, I wrote two articles about student life that you should check out if you want some suggestions on how to organize yourself as a student and how to deal with tough days. Here and here.
In my last post, I mentioned that this semester, I want to be aware of my breath and be as present as I can in every moment. Part of that is learning how to eat with presence of mind. For us college students, it's easy to eat bad food or to rush through lunch or even to forget to eat at all. Eating is one of our most basic needs, and if we don't take the time to eat well, then everything else will suffer as well. So one of my other goals this semester is to be more aware of what kind of food I'm eating and to enjoy every bite of it instead of having my mind on an essay I have to write later. I also want to continue to learn how to cook from my mom, the Internet, TV, and wherever else I can. I find cooking to be relaxing and just a lot of fun. It's such a joy to know that I can make something on my own.
Actually, my mom and I are going to make some bread today, which I'm excited about. We haven't done it since the summer.
I've also been really in love with making eggs sunny side up the last few weeks. So yummy in a sandwich with cheese or salsa or whatever else your GI tract desires. haha
Another goal of mine is to continue to dress well and to pick great pieces that really add to my wardrobe. I've been great at doing that the last couple of years and I want to continue because it pushes me to be creative and makes me feel more confident as I take on the day ahead.
What else to tell you all?
Hmm...if you're looking for a new show to watch, definitely check out Empire. It's about a family in the hip hop music business, and it is fabulous. It's no wonder the ratings have broken records. It just started in January so there's plenty of time to catch up here.
S.
For this last semester, I've decided that I'll share one cool/interesting/thought-provoking thing that I happen to run across during the week:
Ophelia Dahl talks about her father, children's literature icon, Roald Dahl and his advocacy of vaccines for children.
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