College Lifestyle

I'm going to be completely honest right now by saying that I have no complaints about anything and am truly happier than I have ever been today in college.  And this has nothing to do with the fact that my last class was cancelled but something to do with the spur-of-the-moment Starbucks run with two girls in my English class.  This weekend is going to be a long one: reflection paper to write, educational psychology lesson to plan, English essay to revise, English project to create, and all of the other normal homework that I have on a given weekend day.  But none of this phases me because I know that I can do it!  Four years of high school taught me that I thrive on activity and being busy.  I know how to manage my time, balance the things I want to do with what I have to do, and still enjoy every moment of it.  So how do college students get it all done?  They make it part of the lifestyle.  College is not just about going to class, although it is important, but about making it all work and balancing eating, exercising, free time, etc. with the work that ultimately shapes our future.  So here it is: my college lifestyle tips for you that maybe you can apply to your own lives, thanks to several years of high school and the recent adjustment to college.

Hannah's Homework Plan:
1) Find a place where you can focus: this is anywhere that you know won't be distracting or harmful to finding your mantra.  Sometimes I like working in Starbucks, sometimes I like the comforts of my room.  It also depends on the day.  On weekdays I prefer the second floor of the library while on weekends I may work at my own desk, the study rooms in my residential college, or library stacks.  And it also depends on the assignment.  Just find whatever works best FOR YOU.

2) Time Management: get a planner that has plenty of space for you to write all of your assignments and schedules for your day.  I write everything in order and use a highlighting system so that I know what is going on every hour of every day.  I also take serious advantage of iCal on my MacBook and Google Calendar, and there is a way to combine the two so that nothing gets lost.  It also transfers to my iPad and iPhone, so I know exactly what I am supposed to be doing every second of the day.  I take about twenty minutes every Sunday to make a basic outline for each day in my planner to write class times and the homework I know of in advance in addition to club meetings and campus events.  Then I open up iCal and schedule when I go to the dining hall, gym, library, meetings, and other personal items on my agenda.

3) Essays: the one thing none of us can ever escape from, no matter how old we are.  But, I have found a science to writing papers that really works, especially in my English class.  I open up a blank word document with the assignment in another window or a hard copy in front of me and write everything that I know about or think about in relation to the assignment.  From there, I organize my ideas into paragraphs, come up with a thesis, and format it perfectly.  Then I make sure that all of the questions are answered, everything is cited properly, and that I have completed the assignment.  Every assignment that I have had to do here must be submitted online but I have also found that printing hard copies and doing editing on paper helps too!  Especially from Public Speaking, I have found that reading aloud to myself and other classmates has helped me improve my writing as well.

4) Tests: ah, these never get old.  But they all depend on the class.  I have found that study groups are very helpful, especially groups of four or more, because in mine, we have all combined our notes into a good outline and then sent hard copies to each other via email.  It also helps because we are able to share notes and pick up ideas that somebody might have missed in class or not thought of before.  But it all depends again.  I have found that grouping details around major concepts has helped me organize my thoughts when it comes to thinking about multiple choice and essay questions.  Outlines and notecards are also invaluable study strategies as well, in addition to color coding, highlighting, and rereading important parts of the textbook.

5) Digital vs Handwritten: this is a common debate in college with the recent rise in students using laptops more than desktop computers.  Personally, I have started using my laptop and iPad now for notes so that I can type directly on PowerPoints and create better outlines.  There are also great Apps in the App Store on iTunes for iPads for reading and writing notes, my personal favorite is Notability.  You can load PDF copies of textbooks right into the app and annotate them with a stylus or type directly on them as well.  It all comes down to personal preference and battery life.  I used to be a handwritten girl, but now I use both equally just in different forms for my different classes.

So now that you see how I have made this part of my lifestyle, you will understand how blogging fits into all of this.  I spend a few hours every weekend working on marketing, networking, and designing different ideas so that I can improve your personal experience.  There are a bunch of great blog directories and networks online that I have become a part of, and I am looking forward to continuing this project through my college graduation in 2016!

Have a great Thursday, and I will be back to blogging once this major rain/snow cloud that I call homework stops pouring on and causing post delays.

XOXO