News Taffy

I wish I could say I’m an expert at not getting in over my head, but to be an expert at this, I would think you would have to be someone who can avoid overloading and overwhelming themselves. This is not the case for me.

Now, finishing up the fourth week of school, I’m concerned about grades and times and how everything is going to get done (and has been done up to this point). I’ve talked about organizing time and finding ways to make everything work, but right now, this is not my strongest point. However, I can give some advice on keeping yourself sane through the process.

It’s tough. College is more difficult than you realize. Some may say it’s easy, and they may be right when it comes to themselves, but others of us out here are struggling to stay afloat. I thought it would be a brilliant idea to take my last 12 required hours of my major in one go, and so far, I seem to be making it somehow, but I sure don’t know how I’ve got all of my assignments done, and had time to study, and had time to sleep.

Note: 6 hours of sleep a week (yes, week) is not healthy. Trust me on this.

After talking to my mom on the phone this past week about how much I have to do and how I have no idea of how to get it all done, I finally asked her “How do you find time to organize your time if you have no time to get yourself organized?”

“Well, I would say that you’ve let yourself get overwhelmed before you had time to get it all sorted out,” she said. “If you just set everything aside for one minute, and don’t think of what all you have to do at this very minute, in order to put everything in its place you’ll be good to go.”

Since talking to mom, I’ve been working on taking care of myself first, then taking care of school. Yes, you are in college to work, and yes, school becomes a lot like a job, but if you can’t take care of yourself you can’t get your best work done.

Here are some tips (I’m new to this, so bear with me):

*Stop. Know when you need to take a break, or better yet, get some sleep. You might think that cramming and studying all night is how to be successful in college, but it will only make matters worse. Know when you can’t think anymore (or even can think, but don’t want to push yourself further) and do something else.

*Socialize. Don’t spend every night out partying, because just like cramming before a test, partying all night is not what college is about either. Get some time in with friends away from studying and away from school. You need time that you don’t spend worried about finishing a project or writing a paper. Yes, you will need to do those things as well, but taking a break is really in your best interest.

*Eat. You need protein. You won’t get anything done (or at least anything of worth) by putting off eating until late at night. Not only will you eat the wrong things, but you will eat in excess, and that’s a sure way to gain the dreaded “15.” Snacking on things like almonds and yogurt will get you through. These are also great “brain foods” that give you the right energy you need.

*Relax. When you do study, don’t think of all the ways you will fail in a semester. Failure is acceptable in college (trust me). If you fail one thing, that may be a sign that it was never for you in the first place. Keep looking at other interests. But all of this aside, if you are studying blindly while visualizing a “D” on your test, you’ll probably end up with that “D” regardless of how well you truly know the material.

Getting overwhelmed happens. It’s just a part of the college experience, but you don’t have to let it get the best of you. I learned this the hard way this week.

After talking with my mom and taking a step back, I’ve started to look at each new day as just that – a new day. Worrying about what will happen tomorrow is wasteful because you are generally cutting yourself short of having the best day of your life.

See ya around campus!
-Beth