Written by Bridget Jackson
We have officially made it to the halfway point of the semester; the end of the race is near. By now, we are fully in the swing of our classes, have an established daily schedule and understand how our courses work. Midterm grades were released just last week, leaving some of us satisfied and others fearing for the work ahead. If you have maintained a solid grade point average thus far, I congratulate you. College work is far from easy. Aside from the class work part of the semester, what else have you accomplished by this mid-term?
If you are only participating in the day-to-day class schedule, with meal breaks in between and the never-enough amount of sleep, I guarantee you- you are missing out. This mid-term review is meant for you to take a moment, stop stressing about your test tomorrow or paper due at the end of the week, simply stop and think about what you have accomplished thus far in the semester. We all hear that college is the best four years (give or take a few) of your life. And college is all about what you make of it. What exactly have you made of this semester?
When you graduate from college, however far off that may be for you, every single one of us is going to apply for a job. And the job market, as we are told over and over again, is increasingly competitive. Yes, it is basically required that job applicants need to have internship experience. Aside from that, what other kind of experience do employers want?
All of that experience doesn’t have to directly apply to a job field. Your dedication in the school dance club for four years shows that you have determination and drive to not give up. Your participation in Aikodo club shows that you care about being a strong person and defending yourself. Any participation at all, in any club at all, shows that you put forth the effort to do something other than what was required of you, and employers will notice that. But do not simply get involved just for the job benefits, do some things on campus just for you.
So walk away from this laptop that you have been staring at for who knows how long now. Pull up the list of group exercise classes and pick one. I stand as such a strong supporter of yoga as it simply can relax you, no matter how stressed you are. Want something a little more upbeat? Head into a cycling class for an hour. That one hour of listening to incredibly powerful motivational music will give you that drive to feel a little more energized to finish your work. Better yet, why not sign up for a personal trainer? I dove into this as a personal challenge- to better educate myself on being in shape. (more details on that little challenge in a later post) Aside from feeling like a total celebrity having my own personal trainer, I can guarantee having a personal trainer is totally worth it.
When was the last time you went to a lecture on something you were interested in, or joined a club just for fun? One of the most beneficial things I have just begun doing is making time in my week to leisurely walk through the campus center. When I am not in a rush, I stop in all the alcoves of the campus center with the bulletin boards and read the flyers. Do you know how much valuable information is posted on those bulletin boards? Most of us just rush through the campus center on the way to class. Clubs, organizations, classes or special recruiters post information for the campus on those boards. Aside from that, there are tons and tons of lectures on so many important topics as well as interesting community events and volunteer opportunities.
Hopefully this post took your mind off the looming amount of work you have to do. Remember, college is all about what you make of it. Don’t just learn in your classes; educate yourself in life. Attend a lecture on something you’re interested in, join the Outdoors Club just to take a hiking trip, stop by the study abroad office to see what the world has to offer. Every situation in life has something to offer, and everything in life is about connections. Who knows, maybe the first job interview you go on you will be able to make a connection with the interviewer about your love for yoga. Take just a few more seconds to do your own mid-term review. Are you satisfied with what you have done for the first half of this semester? Thriving in college is an accomplishment in and of itself, but give yourself some reward and make the most of your college experience, get involved in something just for fun.