Just striving to be all I can be.
I’m loading. Have been for a while. In fact, I’ve been processing since this last spring semester, working my behind off in the background so that the image that eventually appears is as clear, crisp, and sharp as can be. Without getting into specifics, I’ve been learning a lot throughout it all; enough to know that it’s time for me to hit the refresh button.
Much to my joy, finals are over. And with that, my first semester at The King’s College has come to a close. Thus far, I’ve shared a good portion of my outside-the-classroom learnings and revelations with you in previous The New Adult posts. But as I reflect on my semester, I realized there’s one more thing I need to remind you of before the end of the year: progress is determined by action.
This isn’t a novel concept. In fact, even if
Like most college students, I’m not the biggest fan of finals. I’m just not. The fact that, regardless of how well or poorly you completed every assignment throughout the semester, your final grade is most always dependent on one high-pressured exam has always perturbed me. It’s why I’ve never liked finals and likely never will. Yet that’s not my only take on them. For now, in my fifth college semester, I finally see how finals apply to the real world.
Time; there’s only so much of it, and it continuously ticks away whether we utilize it or not. It’s for this reason that I wrote about the importance of time management in the life of a new adult. But one thing that isn’t stressed enough is utilizing the spare minutes that make themselves available throughout the day. Especially since doing so can give you the boost you need to reach your goals.
We have a lot more spare minutes than we typically realize; especially if don’t lay out our plan for the day in a planner of some sort. There may be the five minutes we’re waiting in
Odds are that if you’ve gone to school or listened to any sort of “successful” person on the radio/YouTube/etc., then you know that goals are important. You also probably know that achieving goals are important. It’s fairly common knowledge. But what’s not as well known is the importance of achieving truly individual goals, which can propel you to accomplish other tasks.
Now when I say truly individual goals, I don’t mean plain old individual goals. To be more specific,
Sometimes you just need a break. Previously I’ve written about taking a Sabbath, but sometimes you need to take a break in addition to that. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
[The theme song for this blog post is “The Choice Is Yours” by Black Sheep. Yeah, this blog post has a theme song. I’m changing it up. The revolution will be televised.]
Over the last month and a half, things have gotten a bit hectic. Between midterms, basketball, creative writing, my business, this website, and a plethora of other things, I simply haven’t been able to do everything which as much vigor as I would prefer. I’ve had to pick and choose what activities I give precedence to, what I let my thoughts dwell on, and when and how long I fulfill other personal and external commitments. This is an important thing to master, because it’s applicable to every walk of life; regardless of age and background.
Back in high school, here in college, and (I’m assuming) professionals in the work place often fail to do it. And if they do, then, like me in high school, it may only be for a couple weeks (if that) at a time. But going to college here in New York City, I have no choice if I want to achieve all my goals and aspirations. I have to squeeze the most I can out of every week.
Before I can do that though, I have to make the most out of every day. Doing this takes a combination of
I hate having to decline something. Whether it’s an invitation to a party, a workout, a study session, or anything else, I just don’t like having to pass up on anything. But amidst all the many activities, opportunities, and challenges that accompany life, I’ve come to understand that it’s okay to say “no” to something. Sometimes it may even be necessary.
Over two months into my college education here in NYC, I’m finally getting into the swing of things. I feel like I’ve almost passed the learning curve. But when I say that I’m not talking about pure academics. Honestly, my college learning curve has been with everything outside of the classroom.