New Year, New Me?
College has been well, difficult these past few months. You would think that graduating from an Early College program would prepare me for the rigorous courses and talking to professors and it did, the downside to this is that what no amount of high school can prepare you for is at college you eat, breathe, sleep, live school. And for some, yours truly included, it is so easy to burn out. I can genuinely say that a good ¾ of the way into the semester I burned out. I made my first ever D in a class, still haven’t told my parents that I’m retaking my calc 2 class, slightly changed my major, (dropped the engineering part so now no longer a double major) and I’ve realized that I’m taking a lot of classes next semester. But with that said, 2017 really tested my perseverance, my motivation, and my intelligence and I’ve learned that as much as I want to coast through college in the same way I did in High School I really need to buckle down and go on this long and hard drive. 2018 has begun and while many people have started, and some even failed, their New Year’s Resolution, I want to start a New Year’s Revolution. I want to change how I live, how I learn, and how I love this year.
How I Live
To say that I’m going to change how I live is a big goal, but one I want to achieve. To begin I want to start organizing more. While I’ve always been organized in my academic life, my day to day life is more of a disheveled mess. I am instead challenging myself to focus more on what need and less on what I want. I want to reward myself for my hard work but without making it the sole motivation of the goal. I want to exercise more in the hopes of it improving my outlook on myself instead of only ever thinking that I’m solely good at academia. And the big one this year is to drink more water, yes you heard me, water. I know that while it is not a lot that I’m wanting to change, I’m hoping these small steps can make a revolutionary change in my physical and mental well being.
How I Learn
A thing I never thought I would change was my work ethic, I had been up until senior year a straight A student, and even graduated valedictorian of my class, but what the first semester of college taught me is that there are far more things to do outside of class work that can tempt me to not work as hard. With the new semester, I’m currently planning to take a 17 credit hour course load, assistant stage manage the musical, work a part time job on campus, visit the tutoring center a lot more, as well as audition for the play, I know that finding time for school work and myself will be difficult. All this aside, I don’t want to only focus on school work but need to make this my central focus of the semester. I am currently looking for a new system of to do list (if anyone has any pointers please feel free to let me know) to help me make certain that I get all of my work done. I plan on utilizing more of my time on studying each day instead of cramming a few days before and re-writing/condensing notes to focus on the important aspects instead of the superfluous ones. Overall I want this semester to be a work smarter not harder one.
How I Love
Now I’m not writing this saying that I want to be in a romantic relationship anytime soon, but rather I want to love myself more, share more love, and enjoy more love. My goal is to share positivity, encouragement, and love wherever I go instead of the negativity, negativity needs to be left behind in 2017. I want to take time and appreciate all that I was, all that I am, and all that I will be. I want to spend less time on how to make myself better by changing how I look, or feel and dedicate that time to volunteering and giving more.
Overall, I want 2018 to a reflective and revolutionary year for me, and I challenge all of you to creating and following through with your New Year’s Revolution.