4 Tips for Finals Week

Getting through those four days like a pro.

Originally published on May 23, 2017

(This should have published weeks before; there was a glitch that prevented it from being published until it was)

For those of you who have yet to finish your finals, here are a couple tips to help you get through to the end of the semester (and more importantly, to summer!).

1. Know when your finals are

This may seem like a given, but I can’t tell you how many people kept asking when exactly the final for the class is. It should be listed on the syllabus. Look them up, and make a schedule for your entire week. You might find out there are days where you have no finals. Taking those into account, you can create a study schedule. Figure out which finals will have the most material or will be the most difficult and set aside the most time for them.

2. Make a study guide

If the professor has not made a study guide for you, make one for yourself. Better yet, even if they are giving you a study guide, make your own as well because chances are not every single detail will be on the given study guide. With your own guide, you can focus on the topics you are less confident in and by having to go through all your notes again, you can remind yourself about certain topics you may have forgotten about. Study your old tests and quizzes as well. Many professors will re-use questions, especially if they are about main ideas. Study what you did not do well on for other exams.

3. Get plenty of sleep

You might think you have the ability to pull an all-nighter, but trust me, you don’t. Even if you could stay up late enough to get through all your notes and have it perfectly memorized and understood, by the time your final comes around you will be so tired you won’t be able to remember anything you “learned” the night before. Study early enough in the night, go to bed at a reasonable hour, and then go over the things you are least confident on one last time first thing in the morning. That way they are fresh in your head and your head, in turn, is alert and ready to take a final.

4. Don’t forget to relax

There are many stresses which occur in relation to finals week. For some of us, we just dislike taking exams, and to have a whole week dedicated to them is near torture. For others, perhaps a looming less-than-stellar grade is motivating us to try and pull through at the last minute. Having four or more big tests in four days is a stressful thing, overall. Therefore, take time to relax. Unless you have back-to-back finals, after you finish one, take a nice long break before you start worrying about the next. Take a walk, get some food, or get some sleep if you did stay up too late. Just know where the line is, and where the fun needs to stop in order to get your mind back into studying gear.

Good luck with finals, everyone! Study hard!

10 Things I Learned in Sophomore Year

Halfway done with my college experience; I'm definitely a "wise fool"!

Originally published on May 22, 2017

Here is a list of 10 things I learned in the past year. Some are very specific things I learned, and some are advice I wish I could have given myself, in retrospect, and will keep in mind for next year.

1. Too many nights with too little sleep will start to catch up with you. 

Despite what you might think, whatever you are watching can wait until the next day, or the weekend. Keeping yourself awake in class in never fun and makes the days drag even longer. Don’t let your first thought of the day be “I’m definitely going to bed early tonight”, because it’s just not going to happen.

2. The more you get done in advance, the more you get to sit around and do nothing.

A stress-free pre-finals week is always a bonus. You can relax and watch the Netflix you put off, or just silently pat yourself on the back. Just make sure the work is quality work and not rushed. Also don’t shut off your brain during finals week, despite not doing anything the week before. Finals are important. Very important. Usually.

3. If you have a problem with a class, talk to the professor.

They will listen to you, and what you have to say to them might be things other students want to say as well. If you work together, you can turn your most stressful class into a class you almost look forward to each day, knowing your grade will be pretty safe.

4. It’s okay to do extracurricular things, and it’s also okay to say no. 

If you are running 16 hour days for a month straight, find a way to take a break. People will understand. The thing you love shouldn’t be causing you pain and stress, especially if it’s on top of the usual stress of college.

5. If it’s clear the textbook will just be regurgitated in the lecture, save time. Don’t read it. 

However, for the final, definitely read the textbook to fill in the blanks of your notes.

6. Sometimes things just fall into place. 

For example, Honors requirements relaxing, or a degree program becoming very flexible and achievable.

7. Carry everything on a flashdrive. 

Not only because your laptop might decide to not participate, but also in case the network for the entire university is down and your presentation is stuck in your email. This is for the sake of your professors’ sanity as well.

8. If you’ve discovered a new passion, or a path to a new passion, go for it!

Keep up with whatever you are doing, and find a way to stay with it. Perhaps there will be a job on the horizon.

9. Take opportunities as they arise. 

You don’t always have to follow the rules, and sometimes the things you are presented with are better for you in the long run.

10. Time goes by way too fast. 

If there’s something you want to do, find a way to make it happen in the next two years. Enjoy the experience and the atmosphere and the people.

Happy summer, Lakers!

The Best Four Years of Your Life?

The ubiquitous college label and why I don't like it.

Originally published on May 1, 2017

One of my newer pet peeves is when a person, usually someone a generation or two above me, will say something like, “Enjoy college! They’re the best years of your life!” I remember colleges saying things like that to me when I was looking around, trying to decide where to go. “Come [here] for the best 4 years of your life!” Now that I am halfway done with college, I am trying to figure out why people keep saying that. I’ve enjoyed my time here, but it’s not mind-blowing amazing. It’s fun and I love it, but why is there a pressure to make the most out of my college years?

It’s one of those tropes you see a lot in popular media, where the popular people in high school “peak” in high school and are less than successful when our shy, nerdy protagonist catches up with them years later. That’s just it, then. Perhaps the people who keep pushing this narrative are the ones who have fallen victim to a monotonous post-college lifestyle, and they are trying to make sure “us kids” do better than they did.

I can see where they are coming from. College, for the most part, will be the last time you are in a learning environment on an academic schedule and enough freedom to do what you want some days, provided you don’t have schoolwork to do. For me anyway, it’s the last few years of my parents’ financial support, though perhaps not the last years of living at home.

Life is easier in college. I’ll give you that. It’s nice when you have a job lined up for the summer and enough free time to squeeze in a few hours of work here or there and try to keep your grades up and learn about things you love and want to study. Your full-time job is to be a student, and most people expect that to be where your priorities are. You’ve been a student for fifteen years, so you’re good at it.

Even still, many college students are working when they are off. Some have families to support, and not all can afford to go on a fancy spring break. College is not as carefree as, say, high school, for some people.

I guess the reason my gut reaction is negativity when faced with the statement “the best years of your life” is I’m only twenty. I have so much life ahead of me, and the label makes it seem like it’s all downhill from here. I am optimistic about my future (though I may not always express that most days). I hope I will find a job I love with people I enjoy collaborating with. I want to continue to grow and learn, but instead get paid for it.

This article doesn’t mean I don’t love college. I really do, and I’m so glad I am where I am with the programs I am in. I just don’t think colleges and adults should be pushing the agenda of making the most of your college years when there’s so much after college to look forward to. 

The Appeal of "Pride and Prejudice"

"It is a truth, universally acknowledged..."

Originally published on April 26, 2017

There are days when all I want to do is curl up and turn on 2005 Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly. This is the most popular of Jane Austen’s novels, and probably the most adapted. Earlier this year I discovered The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube and greatly enjoyed them.

But why is it so popular? Why do so many people my age enjoy it? It boils down to two things: story and characters. Yes, all stories can be boiled down to these two basic elements but I think it is especially true when it comes to Pride and Prejudice.

First, the story. The story at its core is a romance, with many different turning parts and side stories that create a tangible world. The exact details of the world might not be as relatable today, but they can be translated into our world through the many adaptations out there. There are three main romantic stories, the quiet courtship of Jane and Bingley, the scandal of Lydia and Wickham, and the rivalry-turned-romance of Lizzy and Darcy. There are also the family’s financial problems, the awkwardness that is Mr. Collins, and the worries about the future and their place in society. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: relatability is what makes a good story popular. The situations were true then, and can be true now. There are bits of our lives we have seen and experienced, some very similar to these. I recommend watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for a realistic take on the Pride and Prejudice story in the modern age. It translates a marriage proposal into a job offer and other things like that. The story is also enjoyable in the context of the time period. There are some funny moments and dramatic moments. There’s just something about this story that flows and sucks you in.

Second, the characters. We all know (or are) Jane, sweet, perfect, so nice to everyone and often the least deserving of bad things. There are Lizzies and Darcys in our lives too, people so sure of themselves who can’t unsee a bad impression, smart people who fail at the simplest human interactions. There are parents that either control us or support us, uncomfortable dates, very best friends making poor decisions, the excitement of a formal, a sibling who always tags along, someone who is often a stick in the mud, relatives who will pull us out of ruts, the exoticism of new people in the neighborhood, a master manipulator, or a nice guy full of empty promises. Everywhere you look there is something in your own lives that you can see inside the Pride and Prejudice story.

Pride and Prejudice is one of those stories that we have all had access to and that has been a source of entertainment for many of us for nearly two hundred years. It will continue to be a staple in Western entertainment, to be studied, to be enjoyed, to be adapted, and to be remembered. 

Thoughts About Being a Tutor

It's good for you, and for your peers as well.

Originally published on April 17, 2017

Tutoring is a core part of the academics of a university, though not everyone takes advantage of it or even knows that they can become a tutor. It wasn’t something I thought about until a professor recommended me for a class and I went with it. I’ve been a tutor for 3 semesters now, for several different classes, and I’ve collected a few thoughts about the whole thing.

For one thing, I treat tutoring like a small, second job. Of course it is always nice to make a little extra money, especially when it is a subject I enjoy relearning about and going over and explaining. The only thing that it costs you is some time, which if you treat it like a job it will be easy to figure out a few blocks of time. The best part of this “job” is the familiar subject material. You easily get excited about it and you want others to be excited about it.

Tutoring is a way to help out your university, not exactly to “give back and serve”, but more of in the sense of contributing to the overall success of the university. You are helping your peers succeed, people you will meet up with for a few weeks and then never see again, or people in your major whom you will get to know better over the years and will continue on in their degrees partially thanks to your contribution. Maybe all the students want out of their tutoring is a little motivation to learn the material in these core classes we’re all forced to take. And that’s fine. Everything is really all up to the students, how much effort they put into all of this.

I’ve found that tutoring is good for me too, to go over old subjects that I enjoyed and reteach myself the small details about the subjects. There’s a reason I chose to tutor these certain core classes, and not just major classes. For anyone looking to be a tutor, those are the classes you want to go for. There are many students who will need your help. By this point, you’ve been in college for several semesters and are bound to have picked up a few study tricks. Passing these tricks on will help those freshmen looking for help do well and continue to do well in their future semesters.

Now, I don’t want to be a teacher after I graduate. There wasn’t ever much of a desire for it, and tutoring didn’t really change that. However, I will continue to be a tutor. There’s a sense of accomplishment when a student you have been with for a few weeks gets a B on an exam when they failed the first one. Again, it’s not all completely up to you. But knowing you helped is enough. And getting to get others excited about subjects you enjoy while getting paid for it is definitely a perk. As far as ways to spend my evenings, I could think of a few worse ones. 

Weather Really Does Affect Your Mood

Dreary Erie or Cheery Erie?

Originally published on April 10, 2017

It's springtime in Erie, which means the weather has many moods it goes through every single day. It could be sunny and 60 in the morning and 40 and nearly snowing at night. Wearing layers has become second nature for someone like me, who has classes in hot buildings and cold buildings, and despite hour-long classes I do not usually miss out on whatever small chance of rain occurs that day. One thing I've noticed is lately many of these days have been gray, overcast, maybe a slight drizzle, and not very warm. ("Dreary Erie", indeed.) Last week was like this, and this week seems to be going that way as well. And you know what I noticed? This dreary weather can affect your mood.

Professors noticed a change in our mood, commenting on how quiet we were. We noticed it amongst ourselves too. We just felt tired and not in the mood to do anything (we were halfway between breaks as well so it was a bit of a rut learning-wise). March is such an icky month anyway in the context of school, and add constant gray skies and no chance for shorts or outdoor classes: it's no wonder no one was in the mood for anything. There was one day that was warmer and sunny and immediately I noticed a change in the atmosphere around campus. I definitely felt a pep in my step. Even just a little bit of exposure to sunlight, the warm smell in the morning that immediately makes you think of spring, is enough to make you feel better.

The fact that weather is tied to mood is a real thing. There is a disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which usually occurs during the darker months of the year. Because there is less sunlight, your body creates more melatonin, which makes you tired. So having constant cloudy days will definitely affect people, even those who do not usually feel depressed or tired during the winter months. It's not just a week or two of gray that is bringing down our spirits. It is the beginning of spring, technically, and I believe in true Erie style it was hailed with some snow. Even though the days are getting longer, they are still not as long as they will be soon. People who regularly experience Seasonal Affective Disorder will continue to feel its effects, and even people who don't will benefit. Warmth, being in sunlight and getting vitamin D, and getting fresh air are all important things that will come naturally once the weather is nicer and improve our moods a great deal.

It's safe to say spring has sprung. We're not out of the snowy woods yet, but there's no chance it will stick for a long time. The nickname of Dreary Erie is well deserved. Before we know it, it will be too hot every day and we will be wishing it was snowy again. 

How to Get Through a Long Day

It's a matter of planning and perspective.

Originally published on April 3, 2017

I'm writing this article after two “15 hour” days in a row (a Monday and a Tuesday no less!). There have been longer days as well – some by choice, others not so much. Such is the life of a music major college student. But after a few semesters of doing this here are a few tips to get you through these long days.

1. Plan ahead

I make a to-do list for every day as it is, but it is especially important for days like this. If there are things you need to do every day but a different activity will take away from the time you usually spend doing them, make sure you write it down so you can do it later that night or the next day. Too many times I have almost forgotten to do homework because I assumed I had finished it already.

2. Budget your time

Knowing when everything happens is also extremely important, especially if it is an activity you don't do often at a place you are not usually. If you are used to relaxing or doing homework when you are supposed to be somewhere else, set alarms for yourself. Add in packing and travel time so you aren't late. You can even plan in getting some homework done in your free time, or plan for what you will do the next day.

3. Snacks!

Pack plenty of snacks throughout the day. If you're like me, you might not have too much time between activities to eat a full meal, or you might just forget if you are squeezing other things into your usual meal time. Having plenty of snacks will give you a little boost to get through that last activity. Make sure you drink plenty of water too to stay alert!

4. Positive thinking

Your thoughts as soon as you wake up are the most important of the day. They can determine if you will be in a positive or negative mood (in my experience, “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” is a real thing). Therefore, thinking positively will get you through the day. A negative attitude will only make a long day drag. By taking a few seconds and thinking about everything you will accomplish that day, you will be in a better mood for the whole day. If you can't find anything to be happy about in the day, just focus on tomorrow; it will be here before you know it!

5. Short-term

It's only one day. You can get through one long day. Be a rock star, push through it all, and look forward to a comfy bed once the day is through; you will have earned it!

I know going into the future I will continue to have days like this for as long as I play music. Using these habits I am picking up now will definitely be useful in the future to keep my head on straight and to get through some long days.