evolution of strategies (5B)

When I did my time study I was for the most part not surprised. I was proud that I was spending about 35 hours a week on homework and studying which is the recommended amount and was happy that I had about 45 hours or socializing and relaxation. This seemed to be above the class average for both categories. I consider both of these to be great successes in terms of what I want out of college; however I think I get more sleep than I really need. I sleep on average 10-11 hours a night. And while that not the highest in the class I still feel I could be doing more useful things instead of sleeping so much. This is my one downfall during my first few weeks. And I think the problem is I don’t think before I sleep. Most times if I feel tired I just go to bed, even if my alarm is set for 11 hours later. Sometimes I feel tired but it’s really just been a long day and I’m more “pooped” than legitimately tired. When this happens I spend hours awake trying to fall asleep simply because I’m not actually ready for bed yet. This is a small goal I want to achieve in the coming weeks. In the past 4 weeks I have been experimenting with different study habits and work strategies. This week I have analyzed how they have worked and whether or not I will continue them. And now I need to dismiss the failed parts, continue the good, and figure out new things to replace the failed parts. This is what I need to do now but I will use this strategy of evolving for future problems as well. So now a question to the reader, in your own life what is something you need to evolve around?

Football! (5I#5)

This week I attended the football game VS. Merrimack. The game was a close 40-34 but we came out on top. In high school I loved attending the football games with friends. It was always a great time and an opportunity to show pride in our school. Going to the college game with some friends reminded me of high school, just hanging out with some friends showing school pride. Although the game was exhilarating the best part was socializing with friends. While I miss the high school games, I look forward to attending many college football games with my new friends.

Agency (5V

An agency put simply is a place or group that offers a certain service to people. Most people think of government agencies but when you see its definition you see that many things can be defined as agencies. At southern there are many groups that help students become successful. An example is the writing center. These groups can be defined as agencies because they provide a service to people. The writing center helps students on essays or other writing assignment that they are struggling on.

Two words I learned this week are:

La taza which is Spanish for cup.

La lata which is Spanish for can.

5A Steps to success

Starting out college everyone is nervous. This is for many reasons but most of all is the warning given out by everyone before you arrive. Everyone tells you it’s so hard and that you are all on your own to complete everything. Not only that but if you don’t make it you will have lots of debt and nothing to show for it. Everything adults and teachers tell you is about how you have insane workloads and no one to watch your back. But in reality it’s just the next step to independence. Just like the jump from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school, college is just the next step. Yes there is more work but it’s not nearly as bad as I was made to fear. In high school you’re in school 6 hours 5 days a week. From this you have maybe 2 hours of homework each night. So you’re working approximately 35 hours a week. In college it’s just a little higher workload but with reversed roles. What I mean is you spend 15 hours in class rather than 15 on homework. The biggest struggle the first few weeks of college is adjusting to the swap and actually completing the work despite the many distractions. During my first 4 weeks of college I have completed everything I have been assigned, however not everything has been to my satisfaction. Sometimes I have had too much work and had to rush through some assignments at that last second. To fix this problem I plan to work ahead. This way I feel less pressure when I get multiple big assignments. Other than this I feel confident that I have been doing well for a freshman. All in all the different workload in college is simply another step in progressing through the world.

Quietly educated (4I #25)

For 95 percent of the time my dorm is quiet. However on occasion someone is having a few rowdy friends over or playing loud music. And some of that time I have work to do. So where can I go to be able to focus on my work? Well the library. It’s quiet because everyone there is in the same boat as me. Everyone in the library needs a place to focus on their work. Not only that but according to the rules you have to be quiet. It’s close to the dorms which is valuable and just about everyone knows about its excellence in being able to provide a quiet workplace.

Half-baked when born (4B)

Nature vs. nurture. Many people like to believe they control their lives and that life is really what they make of it. But in reality this is only half of the truth. See, there are more factors than just willpower, and the drive to be successful to true success. When we are born we are born with a certain “manual” attached. You can’t read it but you have to follow it. Genetics determine a lot about whom we are and who we will be. Once In an interview a famous psychologist said the following:

Interviewer: When nurturing children, how much nurture is enough?

Psychologist: “just enough”

You see there is no set amount of anything humans need in order to be successful, what we need to do in order to be successful is part of us as we are born. But like a half-baked cake there is still work to be done. This is where nurture come in. When we are being raise from the moment of birth to the time we go out as independent adults we are being developed, the other half of the cake is being baked. The marshmallow test is a fun activity and may have some correlation to success however it is certainly not a certain prediction. Correlation does not imply causation.

Now to relate this to nature vs. nurture. While a part of us is set when we are born we have years to change and develop the rest of our personality. Just because we don’t have patience when we are 4 years old does not mean we won’t later in life. On top of this there are other numerous factors that need to be taken into account. One is the child’s hunger at that time; if a child is full because he just ate he will be less likely to eat it than one that hasn't eaten in a few hours. Also in regards to shaping their future the socioeconomic status of the child’s family is important. If their parents are successful the chances of them being more successful are higher that if the parents are less successful. So my question is, "How much nurture is needed?"

Just keep waiting, waiting, waiting. (4A)

Nobody likes the doctors, but why? I mean in the end they tell you how healthy you are, or unhealthy. No one likes to get shots, get their finger pricked or any other of the necessary tasks so the doctor can send you on your way. But in reality the only complaint I really hear about the doctors on a constant basis is the wait. Is your doctor’s appointment at 10:30? More like 12:30, but in the end its worth waiting for. To know how healthy you are after a few hours wait is worth it to me. Like doctors appointments there are many things in life worth waiting for. One of which is a college degree. Because in the end you’ll be making more money doing what you love instead of making meager money doing a random job you found.

Many people believe Americans don’t have delayed gratification, however this implies that we are more impatient then the rest of the world, which is false. While Americans do hate to wait, it’s an irrelevant statement because everyone hates to wait. When you go to the doctor you don’t want to hear “your test results will be in ten years from now”. They want to hear immediately that they are all set and don’t need to worry about their health. Basically Americans are not particularly impatient, but people in general are.

In my opinion delayed gratification isn't something society can have a great deal of impact on. While we live in a fast paced world that certainly justifies delayed gratification, I think the real problem lies in the day to day life of people. I also don’t think society is willing to slow down in order to reinforce one psychological concept. To me it’s up to the individual and family values to teach people delayed gratification. If a family teaches patience, then their children will have a better sense of delayed gratification. I also would add that technology plays a small role in this psychological ideal. People complain that the internet is “laggy” or that it isn't fast enough for their tastes, however other that this I see no reason technology would influence delayed gratification.