If you had a tough semester last year, make a come back! It is a new year and you are about to start a new semester! Apply what you have learned and start off strong! You can do it!
I have learned time and again that life is a never ending story of lessons. Last year, I experienced the toughest and craziest thing I have ever done in my life! I am usually prepared and realistic of what attempt to do. But as many of you know, life has a funny way of surprising you and teaching you without warnings sometimes. Sometimes we start of a journey not knowing how difficult it might get later on. However, when you find yourself in that situation, you have a choice to face the challenge or to turn back and give up... and I hope that when you come across a challenge, you choose to face it. For if you do, you might just find out that you are stronger than you think. Last year, on Thanksgiving break, I went to visit the Grand Canyon with my family. Of all the trails we could have chosen, we chose to hike the South Kaibab Trail all the way down to the river...which is the longest and one of the toughest trails. I started the hike at 9am. As I hiked down and time passed, I began to realize that the way back was going to be much more intense since I was going to have to hike it up. As my family and I were heading down to the river, we were told by various hikers that the hike was not meant to be completed in one day. But did we listened? No. We were too excited and even though we had limited resources we were very set on doing the hike on one day. Since we were planning to head back to L.A. the following day, we did not changed our minds. But I must admit, I was second thinking it for a minute or two. Going down was a challenge because of how steep the mountain was. We reached the river at about 3pm. By the time I reached the river, my knees were shaking and I was almost out of water. However, the pain was soon abated as I crossed the bridge and reached the river. It was such an amazing sight! But the adventure was far from over. After ten minutes of having reached the river, it was now time to head back. The only way back was going up the mountain. After ten minutes of going up, I knew that I was going to have to take my time. I was not as fast as everyone in my family. Because we did not all have flash lights, we came up with a plan. Those who were a lot more fit would go up and hopefully reached the top of the mountain before nightfall and wait for the rest of us. To make the story short, I reached the top of the mountain by 9PM. The journey was exhausting, but at the same time exciting. The adventure turned out to be a very teaching moment. I was reminded that the journey is different for everyone...and that it is okay. Yes, I was the lost one to reach the mountain, but it felt very rewarding. I also was able to stop from time to time and enjoy the view. So, I just want to remind you that everyone has a different college journey, but as long as you do not give up you will accomplish your goal of graduating and making your dreams into reality. Just do not give up... no matter how challenging it gets. Never stop coming up with solutions and plans on how to tackle the challenge. As long as you take steps forward, you will get there. There are semesters in college that might be tough...so tough that it might feel like you are going up the mountain... and the tought of giving up might cross your mind. I hope you choose to continue your journey and use the resources available because you are never alone... and yes you can do it! You can do anything! I truly believe that! That day, as I was hiking up the mountain I came across a little boy who was tired and crying. He was going down the mountain with his family, but was on the point of giving up. He actually turned out to be my hero of the day...for he gave me water. His act of kindness reminded me that we all need help from time to time and that we should do acts of kindness when we are given the opportunity to do so. Wish you all a great Spring semester! Here is the first blog of the year 2018! And as always...Simon Tech is rooting for your success!!!!
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After a full week of exams, take some time to give yourself a pat on the back for all your effort and hard work. You did it! Yeah!!!!
You persisted and continued eventhough at times you might have felt a bit overwhelmed or stressed. Now, you can spend time with friends and family. Give yourself time to re-energize and recharge! Consider the following when enjoying your winter break:
College will indeed present struggles that might shine the light on your weakness or weaknesses. In that moment, it might be easy to forget your strengths, talents and gifts. You might talk yourself down throughout the learning process. You might even begin to question whether you belong there or if you are meant to be there. Despite, what your mind is saying or what you are feeling, during that difficult moment, you can overcome!
Becoming aware of your weaknesses might have its negatives, but it can also be a positive. How, you may ask? Now, that you are aware of your weakness or problem, you can decide what you are going to do about it. Ask yourself: What can I do? How can I use my stregths to help me through this obstacle? What resources are available to me? If you are having difficulty with a subject, perhaps it means you need to go to the Tutoring Center or the Writing Center? If you are having trouble understanding specific concepts that you professor went over in class, then maybe you can benefit from discussing those topics further with peers or your professor. If you are dealing with anxiety or depression, you might want to make an appointment to see the mental health therapist for advice and encouragement. If you are having a difficult time communicating with a roomate, you might want to talk to the Resident Counselor. As you face and work on overcoming the challenge, believe in yourself! Avoid judging yourself and bringing yourself down. Keep in mind that learning to adjust, getting rid of bad habits and learning new concepts is not easy, so be patient! Also, know that you are not on your own and that the first year of college is the toughest, not just for you, but for many. It is positive thinking, patience and a sense of belief in yourself that will help you create a plan and pull through this. If you stick to your plan and remain patient, you will start to see improvement and progress. It is difficult to create solutions and persist when you are swamped in negativity. Not to mention it is very unhealthy. Therefore, it is very important that you remain strong and patient through the process. Like I said, it is a process. Most likely once you put the plan into action, you won't see results right away, and that is okay. That is how a process works...trust me. However, you must put in the effort, stay motivated and stay strong throughout the learning process...you will overcome! Having peers and people that are supportive throughout this process can be a big help! If you ever need positive words of encouragement, reach out! I will be more than happy to assist you throughout the process and remind you that you can overcome this! After your first week, you might want to structure a game plan. Start by taking a look at your syllabus for each course; how demanding is each course that you are taking? To help you determine this, take a look at the number of quizzes, tests, essays, reading or projects you will be required to complete for each of your classes. Ask yourself, what classes are going to require more of my time?
After you figure out the "level" of each class, you can then decide on the number of hours you will need to dedicate for each course. Keep in mind the rule of thumb is that for each unit, you will find yourself most likely needing three hours of studying time. So, if you are taking a 5 unit course, plan to study for at least 15 hours a week. Now, this might or might not be true for you. As the class progresses, you will then be able to evaluate the "level of difficulty" for each of your classes; you might then decide to set time aside for visiting the Tutoring or Writing Center. I cannot stress enough the importance of using the resources found on your college campus; there are ther to help you, please take advantage of them. Create a plan on how you are going to distribute your studying hours for each of your classes. In order to successfully create a plan you must also include your other responsibilities that you might have; perhaps you have a job, an internship or you are part of a club. Here is a link that might help with organizing your studying time and creating a schedule for it: www.csusb.edu/sites/csusb/files/Time_Management_New.pdf Check and analyze your plan. Make sure that you are sticking to your plan! After all, in order for your plan to work you must be wiling to stick to it. It has been shown that a person who is motivated is most likely to follow through. Consider rewarding yourself each week for your succes. Also, take a moment to analyze wether you need to change your plan in order for it to be more effective. And as always, if you need assistance...I am here to help! The first few weeks you might struggle with the college transition. You might even question whether you can survive and the answer to that question is: yes, you can! Do not feel that you are the only one experiencing this feeling. You are not alone!
However, it might mean that you will have to make a few changes in the way you study and take notes. You might even have to self analyze yourself in order to come up with a plan that can best help YOU. Here are a few study tips that might help you: First, keep in mind that in order to focus, study and recollect information you must first be healthy. Therefore, do your best to drink water, eat nutritious food and get plenty of rest. If you live on campus, this might be a bit more tricky than if you live at home. Nonetheless, you do not want to let guard down; remember, one of your main priorities, as you go on this journey, is to take care of yourself. Click on the following link for healthy easy recipes that you make in your dorm. www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/g2113/recipes-for-college-students/ Second, use an agenda, a to-do list or an app that can help you organize the assignments or tasks you need to complete. It is very difficult to rely in memorizing everything you have to do. If you are much more comfortable with using technology than an actual agenda, then give apps a try. There are so many apps like evernote or google calendar that can help you keep track. Everyone is different so what might work for someone else, might not work for you. Therefore, don't feel you have to stick to what someone else is doing to manage their time. By all means give it a shot, but if it does not work for you, then your best bet is to change the strategy! Keep in mind, that there might be distractions that might get in the way of your plan, but you have the power to find a solution. Go to this site for ideas on how to avoid distractions: www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Distractions Third, write notes when you are in class. Yes, even if your proffesor does not tell you to do so. Your proffesor is giving out information that might show up in the test! Therefore, you should be listening carefully, asking questions and taking notes! There are so many note-taking strategies. Click on the following site to check some out! www.how-to-study.com/study-skills-articles/notetaking-tips.asp Fourth, read the material before lecture. By doing so, you are most likely to follow and understand what the professor is saying during lecture. As a result, you will be more engaged in class and you will have the opportunity to clarify concepts you might not have understood when you were reading the material on your own. After lecture, if you still have questions, make the decision to visit you professor during his/her office hours. Also, make sure you review your notes and do the homework even if it might not be collected! Homework is practice; practice is an important step of the learning process...do not skip this step! Here are a few more studying tips: howtostudyincollege.com/in-class/ And lastly, remember that a positive attitude will help you get through the toughest obstacles. Ignore the negative thoughts! You can do anything, but you must believe in yourself and come up with a plan. Do not give up! If you try and you fall. Get up, choose a different strategy and try again! Here are a few tips that might help you remain in college with a positive attitude. www.wikihow.com/Remain-in-College-With-a-Positive-Attitude And as always I am here for you! Don't hesitate to reach out, I can help you with creating a plan for success! :) In order for a task to get done, there must be action. In order for there to be action, someone will have to make the choice to do so, otherwise the task is left undone. I might wake up in the morning craving blueberry pancakes, but if I don't choose to take action and actually make them or buy them, then it is unlikely that I will have that for breakfast, right? There are tasks that can be completed in one day. However, there are some that require time. It really depends on the task. But just because you have time, it does not mean that one gets to be idle. I have been a victim of waiting...especially when it seems that there is more than enough time to accomplish a certain task. However, it is quite the contrary, one has to take steps to complete the task at hand, otherwise...well... we might just find ourselves in trouble! When I was in middle school, I learned that lesson the hard way. I had just started 7th grade and I had gotten by with working on assignments one day before the deadline. Looking back, it makes me laugh that I did not realize, that I was setting up myself for a stressful and sleepless night. My history teacher had given us a packet and a week to complete it. I did not take the opportunity to see what the assignment was. I guess I thought it was no big deal. So far all the assignments that I had been given by my teachers were pretty easy and I was able to complete them in a day. So there I was. It was Thursday night, a day before the deadline, everyone had gone to sleep and I had found out why my teacher had given us a week for that assignment. It turns out it was a week's worth of work, which I had to do in one day! I did get it done, but I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I would have broken up the assignment into chunks and had taken steps to complete it. I learned my lesson. It was the first and only time I did that in my history class. From there on, I made sure to take a look at the assignment, instead of just assuming what the assignment was or how long it was going to take me. In addition, I learned to break up my assignment into sections and complete them in steps. Believe me, it will come in handy to break your "big" assignments into chunks or sections, when in college. No need for you to learn the hard way, but if you do not take my word for it, remember that sometimes mistakes are made, but if we learn from them, we become better because of it. The point is to learn! When in college, don't hold back! Don't underestimate the assignments or your professor for that matter. Always do your best! Unleash your greatness! You should always want to do your very best in everything you do. Soon enough, it becomes second nature to you. It does not mean that we will always get A's, but at least you know that you gave it your all! Usually, though, the results will always be the reflection of your hard work and effort. You always want to do your best in every class. You are the only one who knows what your best is. And yes, that includes collaborating, asking others for help and using the resources that are available to you on campus. Don't limit yourself! For the most part, we are the ones who set our own limits. Don't say, "I can't," instead find how you can get it done! When you leave a class in doubt and with questions, it is best to clear them out. Remember, action must be taken in order for a reaction to occur. In this case, in order for you to clear out the confusion, you must ask! Otherwise, you might just encounter this same question on an exam! Let your motivation, your purpose for being in school, your goals and dreams be the catalyst that ignites you to take action! You got this! You can do anything you set your mind into! However, if there comes a time when you need to be reminded or just want to talk, I am here! Let's stay connected and achieve greatness! Believe in yourself and know that the Husky family believes in you too! :) As a college student, you will have access to your own campus library and other resources available to you on campus. Definitely take advantage of what is available to you in college! This blog will focus on local library resources; I believe that it does not hurt to be aware of other free resources that are available to you. My frequent visits to my local library started at a very young age. It became my creative space where I could find books about anything like: distant lands, courageous characters, autobiographies and art. I went through a lot of reading phases. I started off with reading fairytales from different countries. Later, I moved to folklore, horror and scary stories. Aftewards, I entered this phase where I would check out classic books. I now enjoy reading books from different genres. I must confess though, I haven't been reading as much as I used to, but I am working on that this summer! I just joined the summer reading program! Interested? Check it out by clicking here! Public libraries offered me the opportunity to get exposed to many resources, that would not have been available to me otherwise while growing up. It was here, where I did all my research, typed and printed out my assignments when in high school. In addition, believe it or not, I did not have access to WiFi when I attended college! On weekends, instead of commuting to campus, I would walk to my library and get access to internet there. Up until now, I still visit public libraries frequently, throughout the County of Los Angeles, where different events take place. It is amazing, to me, when I encounter people who are unaware of all the many services and resources that are offered by libraries, both online and on-site! Has it been a while since you visited your local library due to fines you might owe for not returning items on time? Then, you will be delighted to hear about the Great Read Away. This program allows LA County Library cardholders age 21 and under to get rid of library fines by reading them away. Yes, all you have to do is read! Cool, right? For every hour spent reading in the library, $5 in fines will be removed from your account. If you have library fines, take this opportunity to read them away! Here are some of the many library services that you, as a college student, might benefit from knowing: Online Live Tutoring: College students can get help everyday from 3PM to 10PM in English or Spanish for college level courses in: English, science, math, social studies, and essay review. Tutors can also assist you with career services such as: resume review, job searching and interview preparation! Online Courses: You library card grants you access to take online courses such as: animation, web development, grammar refresher, time management, investment and other enriching courses. If you are not taking summer college classes, perhaps you might want to browse this section and take a free course online. Download Free Music: Do you like to download music, but want to stop spending money on it? You can download up to five free songs every week; that is a total of twenty songs per month without having to spend a cent! Audiobooks, Ebooks, Movies and Music: Get access to free digital media! Hey, you might just get lucky and find one of your required English reading books here! Most of my books that I had to read in my English class were borrowed from the library. FREE passes to local museums and cultural attractions: Looking for something fun and free to do? If you are 18 or over, you can reserve free tickets to local museums and cultural attractions. Life After High School: This section offers a lot of resources that might come in handy for recent high school graduates and college students. Some of the resources include: career exploration, job search and resume assistance. In addition, there are also Los Angeles Public Libraries that are available to you; definitely check them out as well. Even though they are pretty similar to county libraries, there are items that can only be found here and even their online resources might differ a bit. One last thing, that I wanted to share in today's blog is Wolrdcat.org. This website is the world's largest catalog that will help you locate any specific book or library item; definitely check it out! As you can see, the library has a myriad of resources worth checking out! But don't take my word for it, visit your local library or start exploring the website! Homework, college applications, bills...they all come with a deadline and consequences when those deadlines are not met. Hey, even Neflix! I remember when I signed up for my free trial and forgot to end my subscription before the given deadline. It turned out, that for me, trying out Netflix was not free. As you continue to enjoy summer, don't forget that there are important deadlines you must meet in order to successfully attend the college you have chosen. You have already put too much effort and not to mention money to find yourself having to change your plans, all due to not meeting a deadline. So, word of advice, continue to check your emails and if you have any questions or need assistance--reach out; I am here to help! If you are taking classes during the summer, it is important that you pass them. I agree, that it won't be easy, but it is not impossible! Believe in yourself, be patient, be determined and create a plan that will help you succeed academically during the summer! When creating a plan, keep in mind that time management and setting priorities will play a key role in your success. Meeting deadlines might not be easy, but there are many strategies that can help you. Try out some of those strategies and find what works for you! I have learned that if I mark down the date on my planner and insert it on my Google calendar, and set reminders on my phone, it minimizes the chances of me forgetting. Sometimes, I even give myself an earlier deadline, depending on what the assignment is and how much priority it has. I also, like to break big tasks into smaller sections. Trust me on this one! In high school, usually teachers break big assignments into sections for their students. In college, your professor might just ask for a final paper and not a draft. Which means that you have to set time and deadlines for those drafts. In addition, you also want to set time to revise your paper and visit the writing center. In college, you will be responsible for setting priorities to the tasks you need to complete. Setting priorities helps you stay focus on what is more important, rather than what task is easier and more fun to complete. When setting priorities, ask yourself: How important is this? What is the outcome if I do not complete this task? What is the deadline? How long do I have to complete this? There will be times, when multiple assignments will be due on the same day. Don't worry. Instead develop a plan and write it down on your agenda. You might even want to assign earlier and different deadlines to assignments. If you develop a plan and set priorities, you will be managing your time much more effectively. Moreover, as you continue to work on setting priorities and managing your time, you will be developing habits that will help you not only academically, but even after you graduate. Remember that everyday is a new day and a day to work on becoming the best version of who you can become. So let's get to it! One of the toughest lessons that I had to learn when transitioning from high school to college was learning how to manage my time. One of the reasons why it was tough on me was because, in high school, I was able to get away with procrastinating. However, in college it was clear to me (after my second semester) that if I wanted to be sane and have enough sleep, I had to come up with a plan. So, for me, part of my plan was to cut back on the amount of time I spent watching television series and movies. Also, there were times when I had to choose to stay at the library or the writing center, instead of hanging out with friends. By managing my time, I found a balance. Of course it took patience and time. But once I found that balance, I was able to watch movies and go out; however, my priority was always school. I knew that I had to keep my grades up if I wanted to avoid probation, so remembering that fact, prompted me to make the right choices when it came to managing my time. Thanks to technology, there are alot of apps that are available to help you with managing your time and increasing productivity. Here are some, that I have stumbled upon while searching apps that might help you take control of your time: 1. Remember the Milk: This app is worth exploring. It has many features that help you keep track of the tasks you need to complete. Some of the features include: ability to create list of tasks, set priorities to the items on that list, color code tasks and set reminders. You are even able to share the list with someone who can help you with some of the items on the list! 2. Egenda: I actually downloaded this one too! I like that I am able to organize and manage all the tasks that I need to complete on this app. I get daily reminders and I also get to sort them by class, due date and completion. Check it out! 3. Evernote: I have not gotten the chance to explore this app, but it is definitely on my to do list. This app helps you stay organize and increases your productivity. It has a lot of features like: note taking, scanning, web article clipping, receipt and photo organizer, and much more. Definitely worth checking out! |
Joanna Hernandez
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