Ah yes, graduation. A time of simultaneous joy and anxiety for college students around the world: Happiness because “Finally, I’m out of here!” and fear because “Now I have to get a job.”
But we’re not worrying about that right now! My graduation is looming two months from now, and there’s a LOT of people I have to thank! And a lot of questions I have to answer: No, I didn’t major in engineering. Yes, I’ve told you I majored in International Studies. International Studies is about globalization. Globalization is the complex way in which the world works. An example is foreign relations. Yes, that’s why I concentrated in politics and diplomacy. No, I don’t know what I’m doing after graduation yet. Getting a job is hard.
Like I said, I’ll deal with that two months from now!
Rather, at this point in time, I would like to put a spotlight on the crucial support system that helped me through the long papers, the hard projects, and the math classes I still don’t understand. The ones that helped me learn and excel. I can do nothing but acknowledge and thank them below.
(I’d like to preface, in respect to The Aggie Honor Code, that these materials and functions were used to study and participate in class lectures that I did not do the readings for. They were also used for open-book, open-note quizzes and tests of which I and my fellow classmates were given permission to do so. I have been and still am too afraid to lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do so (even though I’ve never seen it happen) for the fear of being kicked out due to academic dishonesty. T’s and G’s.)
- Ctrl + F.
If you somehow have not been introduced to arguably one of the best functions on a computer, hitting Ctrl + F at the same time causes a search bar to pop up on your page, which can be used to find words or sentences WITHIN WHATEVER YOU’RE LOOKING AT. I’m sure every student has used it to reference material in class, get homework done faster, and find answers to questions on open-book tests.
A quick Google Search has informed me that the inventor of Ctrl + F was the computer scientist Larry Tesler, Unfortunately, he passed away in 2020. As that was also the year in which I started college, his contribution towards computer functions (and by default, contributions towards academic success worldwide) have definitely not gone unnoticed and unused. My academic career has been upheld by his work.
If you click on the link to Larry Tesler’s biography, you’ll also see my second honoree.
- Wikipedia
To all of my high school teachers: A plethora of my professors have told us to refer to Wikipedia for information on a subject, concept, or people that were mentioned in their class. Granted, my professors’ advice didn’t pertain towards things like class notes and study material for tests, but the information used from Wikipedia helped fuel class discussions with a more informed background on the subject of discussion.
And, to be frank, it was a lot of help when you had no idea about what the discussion was about.
- Quizlet
This is what I would like to call my Old Faithful. Not only did Quizlet help me through college, but from middle school until now. Arguably the best study tool, Quizlet lets you study in a lot of ways: By learning definitions, by learning the words or problems you’ll be tested on, by making tests to help you recall what you studied, and even by playing matching games!
I think every college student can agree that Quizlet is a major study tool that helps us do well on our exams.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
I’ve had to read a lot during my time here. A lot. Too much. It’s kind of concerning.
And when I can’t remember for the life of me all the information I’ve consumed in one reading, that’s where Adobe Acrobat Reader comes in! I highlight just about all of my readings in there, so that way I know what to reference in class or in my papers. Also, the ability to add comments on what you’ve highlighted has been really helpful towards establishing how the information I’m looking at relates to the concepts I’m learning in my classes.
- SparkNotes
This one only applies to a lot of basic level English and Literature classes, but it’s still helpful nonetheless! In lecture classes, it can be hard to comprehend everything you need to know about the books assigned for your class! That’s where SparkNotes comes in. Sparknotes has a study guide for a lot of commonly read novels in high school and college.
In the literature class I was taking to fulfill my core curriculum requirements, I found it really hard to take down the information I needed to know and how it fit together with the entire story. So, while I wrote down the main ideas and concepts we would be tested on in class, I would consult SparkNotes to figure out how the plot and characters of the book fit together to relate to the main ideas that we focused on in class.
- PDF Drive
One sentence summary: No college students like to pay for their books if they don’t have to.
There you have it! The sources and functions who have upheld my post-secondary education for the past 3 years. While my graduation is still 2 months away, in which I will thank my friends and family who have been my greatest support system throughout my time here at Texas A&M, I wanted to take the time to thank these functions and websites for helping me academically. They quite literally meet the definition of “I couldn’t have done it without you.”