Monday, October 5, 2009

High School Letter

Dear Future College Student,

Going to college is a major life turning event in someone’s life. You get to meet new people and experience a whole new way of life. You get to make your own rules and manage your own life. You can do anything you want, although that can also lead to some students down fall in college. That is why I think the three main things to know before you go to college should be learning to manage your time properly, studying for tests and quizzes, and making sure you are prepared for college before you even leave. All of these things will help someone become more successful at being a college student and make life on their own go more smoothly.
Planning your time wisely is a main thing that a college student should learn to do. Plan time to study and hang out with friends. You don’t have to kill yourself with studying all the time; you should also spend time meeting new people and having fun. School is very important and if you don’t do well then you may not be coming back, but you need to have fun too, you just need to moderate the time for studying and for friends. I found the best way to do this is by planning out my time. I have time for activities I am a part of, time for reading and doing homework, and finally time to hang out with my friends, go to a movie and explore my surroundings. The best way to do this is by planning a large amount of time for studying. The typical rule is two hours for every hour of class for studying. If you plan it this way then you can have time to get all your homework done. You can always moderate your time with friends and studying for weeks you may have more tests and quizzes and relax a little on studying when you are ahead and don’t have any more homework or reading to do. With extra time you have in the day, you can then go and hang out with friends, and meet new people.

In college tests are very important. There aren’t as many homework assignments to do so your grade rests a lot in the grade you receive for your tests. You should start studying way before the test is going to happen. At least a week, but two would be even better. Go over old information and make sure you understand it very well. If you have a question go and ask your professor about it and make sure you have a grip on the topic before you move on. Study every night for an allotted amount of time leading up to the exam and use it wisely. Pick different topics that may be harder to understand and pair them with easier topics you don’t have to look over as much. Then you can spend time on the harder topics and also feel more confident on topic you have already mastered. Try and put a study group together so you can help others and others can help you. The night before the exam try to briefly look over all your information. Spend more time on topics that trip you up and less time on topics your feel fairly confident on. Once you have looked over your information get sleep. Being well rested the day of the exam will help you focus on the questions and focus on the information you have stored. Get to the exam on time, do not be late. You may not get to take the exam if you are late or if you over sleep the day of the exam, because you didn’t get enough rest, you won’t be able to get a grade and receive a zero. Once you get your exam look over it thoroughly. Look and see what type of essay questions you have, if there are any, and see how many question you have to answer and the time you have to take it. If you don’t know an answer skip the question and come back to it later. Hopefully most of the answers will come to you right away. If you get to a question where a lot of work is involved you can save it for later as well. Go back through the exam after you have finished most of the questions and answer the question you didn’t. Try not to second guess yourself as much. Your first instinct is normally right. If you have no idea on a question, eliminate as many answer choices as you can, then go with the answer you feel might be the answer. Once you are finished take a deep breath and feel confident turning in your exam. Don’t let your nerves get to you and think that you failed or get depressed the way the exam went. Try to think positive and hopefully the results will be good.

Finally, I think the third most important thing to know about college, is knowing exactly what you will need while away from home. Getting ready to go to college is a big part of going to college. Having all you need will let you be more successful in school. The best suggestion for knowing everything you will need is to make a list of everything you use throughout the day. There are a lot more things that you use in a day than you may think. There a lot of things you may not think to bring with you until you need one at school and home is hundreds of miles away. Such as bringing scissors, tape, or a hole puncher, may go unnoticed until you need them. When it comes to clothes you will want to make sure that you are only bringing clothes that you are actually going to wear. There isn’t going to be as much room in your closet as there is at your house. Dorm rooms aren’t built for storage, they are built for you to sleep and study in. The more things you can leave at home that you don’t need will give you all that much more room to work with and store the items you actually want to have with you. Also when thinking about the personal items you want to bring with you, think about what you could live without and what you can’t. Bring items you will be able to place somewhere or make room for somewhere. You don’t have to leave everything at home, most of your stuff you may want to bring with you, but if there is no room for it then there is no point in having it crammed into a corner and forgotten about. Also know you are not only finding personal items to bring with you, but you are also going to school. You should bring all the necessary items to do well in school, like notebooks, pens, pencils, paper, a printer for homework assignments (or see where you could print papers for classes would work too), and lots of other small items that you will need to complete assignments. Making a list of everything you may or may not need will help you simplify everything and know exactly what you need to bring. Then you won’t get to school and have to buy a lot of new items that you have at home and didn’t need to bring. Knowing all that you need and making sure it is all coming with you will help cut down on Wal-Mart runs.
Being in college is a much different experience than high school. You have a lot more freedom and you don’t have someone holding your hand. You have to make decisions on your own. That is why I think the most important things a high school student should know before coming to college is to manage time for both fun and homework, study for tests and do well on them, and bringing all the right items. I hope these help you get ready for college and you have fun a successful time. Good luck! It’s not as bad as everyone may say, just make sure you enjoy it while it lasts and make memories and friends that will last a lifetime.

Sincerely,
Abbey

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Day 6

The view of college in movies and on television is very different from what it is like in real life. Movies glorify partying and drinking. If you don't put yourself in that situation you don't really see it happening at all. I wasn't really afraid for college in anyway and I am glad that it isn't like all the movies that I have seen that show all the partying and ridiculous things that people do at college.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Culture Event!

My cultural event was seeing the movie Smoke Signal. I went and saw it with a few of my friends because are trying to see all the movies that TAB put on for us at the school. I must say that it was not the most eventful movie I have ever seen. Not the worse one but not the best either.

The movie was about a Native American that goes on a life changing trip with one of his friends. The movie starts with a fire that the main characters father started. The father is over come with guilt about having started the fire and killing the parents of his sons friend. The father then runs away to Arizona where he dies years later and his son has to take a bus all the way to Arizona to pick up his ashes to take them home. The son finds many things out about his father on that trip and how his father truly did love him.

The movie showed the different culture that Native Americans live with on reserves. It shows how they are inter related and not very different from anyone else. It also showed some of the persecution that they go through and how they live in a different world by living on a reserve.

Day 5... or 6!

I think the most memorable thing so far that I have done in college is going to football games. I really enjoy football so going to the games are a lot of fun. Plus each time I have found someone new to bring along and am making more friends that way. I can't really think of anything else that may have been memorable so far. Most of college has been studying and reading textbooks for classes. Although most of that I have remembered! :)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Day 4... again?

Since we have textbooks we may as well use them right. Here are three ways to use it efficiently.

1. When reading through your textbook make sure to write down main ideas and important information in the text along the margin. Then when you go back to look over what you read, you have the basic information and do not have to reread to find what you need to remember.

2. If you are confused on a topic, scan ahead in the chapter later on, or later on in the book. If it isn't then it isn't very important to remember, but if something builds off a topic you don't understand fully then you should reread to better understand or find someone to explain the topic better.

3. Skimming over the main topics before and after class from your textbook will help you a lot. It will help you retain all the information you just covered in class. Reading it before class will help you understand main topics so when your professor goes over them then you won't be learning it for the first time and will just have them retaught to you and cleared up.

The advantage of living in a multicultural community are plentiful. First of all we get to learn about new holidays that are celebrated and can experience them first had. One would also get to be very comfortable meeting new types of people and feeling awkward around people. You will learn about different ways of life and be more informed in world ideas and foreign policies. You would become a more well rounded person and accepting of other people no matter what there ideas or feeling towards a certain topic.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Day 4, first draft!

Going to college is a major life turning event in someone’s life. You meet new people and experience a new way of life. Making your own rules and managing your own life. You can do anything you want, but that can also be some students down fall. That is why I think the three main things to know before you go to college should be learning to manage your time properly, studying for tests, and getting ready for college before you even learn. All of these will help someone be more successful at being a college student and make life on their own go more smoothly.

Plan time to study and hang out with friends. You don’t have to kill yourself with studying. You should also spend time meeting new people. School is very important and if you don’t do well then you may not be coming back, but you need to have fun too. I found the best way to do this is by planning out my time. I have time for activities I am a part of, time for reading and doing homework, and finally time to hang out with my friends, go to a movie and explore my surroundings. The best way to do this is by planning a large amount of time for studying. The typical rule is two hours for every hour of class for studying. If you plan it this way then you can have time to get all your homework done. With extra time you have in the day, you can then go and hang out with friends.

In college tests are very important. There aren’t as many homework assignments to do so your grade rests a lot in the grade you receive for your tests. You should start studying way before the test is going to happen. At least a week, but two would be even better. Go over old information and make sure you understand it very well. If you have a question go and ask your professor about it and make sure you have a grip on the topic before you move one. Study every night for an allotted amount of time leading up to the exam and use it wisely. Pick different topics that may be harder to understand and pair them with easier topic you don’t have to look over as much. Then you can spend time over the harder topics and also feel more confident on topic you have already mastered. Try and put a study group together so you can help others and others can help you. The night before the exam try to briefly look over all your information. Spend more time on topics that trick you up and less time on topics your feel fairly confident on. Once you have looked over your information get sleep. Being well rested the day of the exam will help you focus on the questions and focus on the information you have stored. Get to the exam on time, do not be late. You may not get to take the exam if you are late or if you over sleep the exam because you didn’t get enough rest you won’t be able to get a grade and receive a zero. Once you get your exam look over it thoroughly. Look and see what type of essay questions you have, if there are any, and see how many question you have to answer and the time you have to take it. If you don’t know an answer skip the question and come back to it later. Hopefully most of the answers will come to you right away. If you get to a question where a lot of work is involved you can save it for later as well. Go back through the exam after you have finished most of the questions and answer the question you didn’t. Try not to second guess yourself as much. Your first instinct is normally right. If you have no idea on a question, eliminate as many answer choices as you can, then go with the answer you feel might be the answer. Once you are finished take a deep breath and feel confident turning in your exam. Don’t let your nerves get to you and think that you failed or get depressed the way the exam went. Try to think positive and hopefully the results will be good.

Finally I think the third most important thing to know about college is before you even get to college. Getting ready to go is a big part of going to college. Having all you need will let you be more successful. The best suggestion for this is making a list of everything you use throughout the day. There are a lot more things that you use that you may not think to bring until you need one for school. Such as bringing scissors, tape, or a hole puncher. Then when it comes to clothes you will want to make sure that you are only bringing clothes that you are actually going to wear. There isn’t going to be as much room in your closet as you are going to want. The more things you can leave at home that you don’t need will give you more room to work with and be able to store the items you actually want to have with you. Also when thinking about the personal items you are going to bring with you think about what you could live without and what you can’t. Bring items you will be able to place somewhere or make room for something that you know you want to bring. Also know you are not only finding things to bring with you but you are going to school. You should bring all the necessary items to do well in school, like notebooks pens, pencils, paper, a print for homework assignments (or see where you could print papers for classes), and lots of other small items that you will need to complete assignments. Making a list of everything you may or may not need will help you simplify everything and know exactly what you need to bring. Then you won’t get to school and have to buy a lot of new items that you have at home and didn’t need to bring.

Being in college is a much different experience than high school. You have a lot more freedom and you don’t have someone holding your hand for you. You have to make decisions on your own. That is why I think the most important things a high school student should know before coming to college is to manage time for both fun and homework, study for tests and do well on them, and bringing all the right items.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Day 3

I think that what Jarrod mention about the study abroad program was very helpful. I hadn't thought about how you could accomplish all of your foreign language requirment, depending on how much you needed for your major, in one semester. Also how you can take classes other than a foreign language while studying abroad, and how you can choose from many different countries is very exciting.

I think the most important topic from chapters 4, 5, and 6 that is important for all college students to know about is how to manage your stress level. Being able to keep a good stress level will help you learn better and relax. If you let your stress level get too high, you won't be able to concentrate and get anything done. Figuring out the best way you learn and how to manage your time is also very helpful, but if you are too stressed to focus on anything or put anything to use they are not going to be very beneficial. Different ways to manage stress could be either deep breathing or some sort of exercise to release tension that has built up. Spending a little time for yourself can also help you relax and concentrate on what needs to get done and how you can most efficiently get it done.