6V: per-sist-ence

per·sist·ence firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

In my own words persistence is to keep going and pushing through even when it gets tough. In college you need a lot of persistence.  As the year goes on I know the work will become more difficult and I will have to really devote a lot of time to studying and doing my homework.  I have to be persistent in order to keep my grades up.  When the work gets hard or overwhelming, I can’t just give up. Even though that may seem like the easiest thing to do at the time.  Persistence is about the outcome in the long run.  You have to keep your future in sight in order to try your very best.

Some other words that relate closely with persistence are patience and stoical. Patience is the ability to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.  Patience is a great trait to have, and if you don’t have this trait working towards it would be a good idea.  It’s hard to be patient all the time, especially if you want something at that exact moment.  It’s better to have patience than to rush through life. Enjoy the little things along the way.  The word stoical is one you probably don’t hear often. Stoical means enduring pain and hardship without showing one's feelings or complaining.  This is a very hard thing to accomplish in my opinion, simply because I love to complain.  It’s definitely something I need to keep working on. I think being a stoical person means to care less about the little things, and focus on bigger things in life.

6A: Keep moving on

This month I have been facing one of the hardest challenges in my life so far.   Since the beginning of my junior year in high school I was in a serious relationship.  My boyfriend and I did everything together, and I mean everything.  Before I had my license he would pick me up after track practice, and we would hangout almost every day after school.  He would help me with my homework and make sure I was keeping up with school.  We went to his senior prom and both my junior and senior prom together.  This past summer we started getting into arguments all the time, I just thought nothing of it.  I thought all relationships went through rough times and that it would make us stronger.  It started getting worse though, over time it wasn't us getting into little arguments, it was him taking out his personal problems on me.  When something went wrong with his family he would get angry and be grumpy around me for no reason.  Even though I knew it wasn't right of him I stayed quiet and just dealt with everything all the time.  One day in the beginning of this month things got really bad, instead of staying quiet like I usually did, I finally stood up for myself. 

I had to be persistent and stay strong even though it was really hard, and it still is.  Even though I still think about it all the time I know I made the right decision by ending things.  A relationship is both people working together equally.  I should have realized earlier that I didn't have to put up with all the arguments and mood swings.  Even though I went through a horrible experience that I haven’t gotten over yet, I don’t regret anything.  I think that facing this challenge in my life has taught me a lot about myself.  I can’t just let people walk all over me; I had to learn how to stand up for myself.  As I continue to face this challenge I just keep trying to remember how much of a better person I am becoming by going through all of this.  The best thing I can do right now is forgive him and move on, I need to use this challenge as a learning experience rather than think of it as a mistake. 

5V: I've got the power

a·gen·cy  The condition of being in action; operation. The state of acting or exerting power.

When I first heard the word Agency, I thought “what does a word that relates to business have anything to do with my class?”  I was wrong, agency doesn’t only have one meaning, it has two. The other meaning of the word agency is power that is within.  You need to have the agency to get all your homework done before the weekend.  In class this week we have been talking all about tips for success and how to manage your time for the best possible outcomes.  Agency has a lot to do with this because it is the force inside you that drives you to do those things, and it’s that little voice inside of you that tells you to finish your work before you go out with friends.

Some other words that relate to the word agency are, Incentive and Spark. Incentive is something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder.  Incentive can come from within or it can be from a reward.  Whatever it may be, it makes you work harder to achieve your goal.  The word spark may mean something is burning, but it has a second definition just like the word agency.  A spark is to set off a burst of activity.  Relating this to study skills and time management you need to have that certain spark that it takes to get everything done.  Instead of procrastinating it is less stressful to finish things so you don’t have to worry about it later!

5B: So little time

After completing the time study chart this week I really found out where all the hours go!  When I am not sleeping or doing homework I’m at work or socializing with friends!  The days fly by and sometimes it seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day, but in reality, there are. 

After looking at my completed time chart I realized that I had a pretty good balance between homework and socializing.  This balance can be really hard for college students to achieve.  Too much studying and too little interaction is never good.  But it also isn't good to hang out with friends and go out all the time and just push homework to the back of your mind.  A certain balance has to be kept in order to be successful.  There were sometimes that I had to sacrifice hanging out with friends in order to have enough time for homework.  Although at that exact moment it’s hard to do, on the weekend I feel better about the decision.  I’m the kind of person who likes to relax on weekends (especially Sundays) and not have to worry about homework. 

Now that I have a clear idea how my time is actually spent I have a better understanding on how to change things and use my time.  In the upcoming weeks I am going to try and complete most or even all of my homework by Friday night.  Even if that means sacrificing time with my friends I will have the whole weekend to spend doing whatever I want without having to stress over school.  On my time study it shows how I left some homework for Saturday and I had work that day too.  I want to eliminate the homework from my Saturdays so that all I have to worry about is going to work.  Now I know for the future how much time I need to devote to school and homework, and the sooner it’s finished, the sooner I can relax.

5A: Looking back

It’s so awesome and even somewhat scary to think that my first four weeks of college have already passed. At first it was very overwhelming. Sometimes it still is, but I definitely have gotten the hang of things.  After my first week at Southern I knew I couldn't keep track of all my homework unless I wrote it down all in one place.  Buying a personal planner was just about the best decision I've made so far.  In high school I would always vow to use one but then I’d never follow through and I got lazy after a while.  College is so much different though, there are so many assignments and things to keep track of that I couldn't just wing it like I used to.  Now after every class I write down what I need to complete and I write tests and quizzes in highlighters so I can't miss them.  Even though my planner warns me that a test is coming so I don’t get caught off guard, it won’t help me pass the test unless I properly prepare myself.  One big disappointment so far was my Geography and Conflict test.  I still haven’t gotten the results but I know that I was not prepared enough.  We didn't finish the notes until two days before the exam, and instead of studying what I wrote each day I waited until we had finished the notes.  I only had two days left to study 15 pages of confusing notes. 

After reading the assignments for this week I now know many tips I can use in the future to make sure I won’t be unprepared for an exam again.  One of the articles said to study in short chunks, not all at once (like I did the night before my Geography exam.) It said to only study for a short period of time every day so you don’t tire out your brain.  The article also said to study alone, and to read your notes out loud so you can hear and understand them better.

In the future I know now, college tests are not easy!  Days of studying are definitely needed, not just one night of cramming it all in. I know I will continue to use my planner and stay organized so that I turn everything in on time.  I just have to continue working on my study skills in order to achieve the good grades that I want this semester. 

5I: According to the media

In my media class we have recently been analyzing ads and looking at the deeper meaning of things.  One subject we came across many times was how media portrayed women.  Out of all the ads we looked according to the media there were only two options of being a women.  An ad would either show a girl being sexy, modeling in few clothes or a girl being sweat and innocent.  There was no in between. The ads were basically all saying that you’re either sexy, or very innocent. 

Today, in the lobby of Engle man hall I noticed a big poster board with a bunch of magazine cutouts on it.  I stopped by to take a look.  I came to find out that this little presentation was exactly about what we were talking about in my media class.  The poster was titled “How to be a woman... according to the media.” Next to the poster were popular magazines and scissors.  They were asking girls to cut out ads from the magazines that showed how media portrays women. I participated by cutting out a skinny girl modeling in just a bathing suit.  All of the pictures were very revealing and talked about dieting and being skinny.  None of them actually portrayed what the average girl looks like. 

While I was at this little convention I also picked up a flyer. The flyer informed me that almost every magazine cover and ad image is altered to make the girl look extra perfect.  I think that this gives false hope for girls and makes them feel insecure.  The media should be using average girls with flaws of their own for advertising to make the readers feel good about themselves and not feel like they have to live up to such perfect standards.  Before I left my friend Brie and I took a sticker that said “Everyone is beautiful” and we wore them around campus all day.

 

4V: Patience Please

Delayed Gratification: The ability to wait in order to get something later. I think this word means to resist temptation and to wait for the better things instead of just settling for less.  So many people in this word are very impatient, and I have to admit, in some cases I can be that way too. Everyone wants what they want right then and there, waiting doesn't even come across as an option for them. Some times waiting is so much better than being impatient though.  If you wait for something worth it in the end your result will be a lot more satisfying to you.

Patience: This word goes hand in hand with delayed gratification. The definition of this word is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Having Delayed gratification means that you have a lot of patience.  You can wait for something instead of getting mad and wanting a result right then and there.

Procrastination: The action of delaying or postponing something. This word has haunted me forever and there is no getting away from it.  I have been getting better with not putting homework off but procrastination still creeps in every once in a while, and I'm sure that is true for almost everyone. In order to be successful time management is key.  Don't push back things that can be done now!