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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

Pros and cons of writing this article:

Pro: I can complete my required weekly Her Campus article. 

Con: My topic is somewhat boring.

Pro: Other people might be able to relate to my obsession with making pros and cons lists.

Con: I only have so many articles left to write for Her Campus and I’m not sure if this is a topic worth dedicating an article to.

Pro: This is helping me decide whether I want to continue writing this article or start over. 

Con: I have not completely decided whether I want to continue writing this article or start over. 

If you haven’t figured it out at this point, I am a pro/con-lister until I die. 

I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself to be an indecisive person; I can make concrete decisions when needed and, while I sometimes let the pressure of making the wrong decision temporarily impact my mood and sanity, I usually am able to properly weigh my options and come to a conclusion in a timely manner. 

However, even if I am able to reach my final destination of a decision, that doesn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t a long journey of mental ping pong to get there. I am constantly creating (both on actual paper and in my own head) pro/con lists that help me map out every reason why I should or should not do something.

While making a list for each one of my next moves may seem excessive, time-consuming and frivolous, I have found that this method is one of the only ways that I can think before I act. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to let passion and emotion get the best of me, especially when those emotions involve any sort of anger or hurt. I cannot count how many times I have said something to someone that I meant, but because I did not think before I spoke, I chose words that did not best represent my feelings or my character. 

I have learned that making a pro/con list for my responses and reactions have helped me set aside emotion (as much as I can) and think more logically and thoughtfully about what I should do next. Before immediately snapping back at someone because I got my feelings hurt, I have developed a pattern of taking a deep breath, creating a mental T-chart of all the possibilities of how to move forward and then weighing each choice based on the severity of the situation, how long I want to drag out or hold onto the interaction and what I believe aligns most with my morals and character. 

Obviously, I don’t always have enough time to stop and think before making a decision, and sometimes I choose to let my emotion take the wheel, but overall, relying on my handy-dandy pro/con lists has helped me shift from an impulsive (and later, apologetic) hot-head to a more thoughtful and logical human. 

Pros: I have just over 500 words in this article.

Cons: The article is over. Aw. 

Extra pro: See you all again next week!

Riley Connors is a member of the St. Bonaventure chapter of Her Campus and plans to write about college, careers, movies and just about anything that comes to her mind that week. She is a senior Adolescent Education and English double major. Outside of Her Campus, Riley is a member of the SBU Dance Team and is a part of SBU College Democrats. She also has a radio show with her roommates on St. Bonaventure's radio station, WSBU-FM. In her free time, Riley enjoys hanging out with her friends and girlfriend, spending time outside in the sun and listening to any song by Boygenius, Hozier or Lizzy McAlpine. She cherishes her time spent at home with her family and dog but loves her St. Bonaventure family that she has created in her three years of college.