Summary: USEEIT BLOG APRIL

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

When people tell you that high school would be the best time of your life, you don’t really understand the magnitude of what they’re saying until your time is coming to an end. A lot of people say that you “find yourself” in college. I, however, had the advantage of finding myself in high school. These past six years have been awesome, and I really mean it. I know it might not seem believable for a high school student to enjoy school, but I’m not lying about this stuff. I felt this way even before there was a scholarship to apply for. My mom taught me from a young age to enjoy going to school, and as much stress as it might have caused me over the years, I still loved every second of it. It’s easy to focus on the undesirable parts like sleep

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

The summer is like a black hole for the knowledge students learned the previous school year. The National Associations for Year-Round Education, Executive director, David Hornak, argues that the learning students lose over the summer when compounded over their school career can be equal to a year or a year and a half of learning loss by the time the student is entering high

Ironically, one thing most college students tend to dislike is college. They would rather spend the day on their phones and computers, scrolling through various social media feeds or watching YouTube videos. Most parents and teachers consider this a waste of time, but one professor feels college is actually the waste of time. Gideon Burton, a professor at Brigham Young University, wrote an article for college students entitled “Dear Students: Don't Let College Unplug Your Future” on his blog in 2009. This college professor wants college students to understand that college is not the only way they can excel in life, and may, in fact, be hindering their progress.

Summer break can be relaxing, however, students begin to be too comfortable with it; instead of studying during school, they grow to be as lazy as they are during the summer. The Editors, author of the article, Crush of Summer Homework, interviewed the chairman of the psychology department at Duke University, Harris Cooper. He stated, “The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting, and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in fall” (The Editors). Consequently, an inactivated studying habit remains unacceptable as the behavior in school requires academic and engaged activeness. Not only do colleges also require heaps of effort, even high school. A.P. classes require to

With only a few months left in the school year, Jeanette Harijanto can hardly wait to get submerged in college life-- the activities, the people, the experience as a whole.

After Summer Bridge, I now know the importance time management is. For the future, I will begin my assignments as soon as I get them, and not save them for the night before. I will also become less persuaded when my friends come over so we can go out. From now on, I will limit my trips to the weekends and maybe a casual dinner during the school week. If I do decided to go out more than this, I will need to have all my homework done before leaving, well at least the one due the following day. I will also take care of myself every day unlike my stay during Summer Bridge. I will take at least an hour every day to go to my favorite place on campus and listen to music, or to continue working on my screenplay. Every week, I will go out with my friends. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive, but just a simply hang out for a couple of hours. Monthly, I will visit a place I have never been before. Maybe I will visit the museums nearby or explore parts of San

Finding ways to enjoy your summer while having depression and anxiety is hard. Everyday I wake up tired and unmotivated to do anything, on a good day I get out of my bed at 11:30 a.m. and spend the rest of my time doing nothing while I sit alone in my house. As hard as it is to believe, summer break is stressful to me because I can literally feel time slipping through my fingers and I know it’s my fault that this is happening. So, I have decided to try and find a way to make the most of my days left. It’s undeniably going to be hard, but progress isn’t made by doing nothing, so my only option is to do something.

In my high school career, I will have two million minutes to make the best of it. These two million minutes correspond with all four years of my high school experience, and every single minute matters. My future relies on this time, if I slack off and do not make the most of my time, I will most likely not be able to get into a good college, and that would start the downfall to the rest of my future. From the very start in my freshmen year, here at F.W. Springtead High, I have made goals that I plan to stick to in order to make the best of my two million

Having summer school sucks, but keeping yourself healthy is the very first priority that keeps you productive and happy no matter when it is. You should sleep, wake up early and do morning walks, because walking is free, and it releases stress, which helps one’s brain function in a more beneficial way. While staying on task for summer school, you should reward yourself with quality time surrounding with family and friends. Hugging your loved ones often, because scientifically it releases stress, boost confident, and reduces the risk of depression. Try to do whatever you want while staying on task: read a book if you are a booklover, watch movies with friends if you love to hang out, go on hikes if you love to exercise and engage in nature,

Combats Learning Loss: According to the National Summer Learning Association, “All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.” In fact, extensive research has shown time and time again, students

Transitioning into university is a huge step up from high school. Undergraduate students, including myself will discover along the way that we have many needs. Some of those needs include financial support and leisure time. As a first year student, I can say that myself and many other first year students I have spoken to have chosen to take a year off of working a job in order to find balance and focus on school. However, not receiving any form of income can be stressful because between the costs of living and tuition, school is expensive. For my first year specifically, I will need any financial support I can get whether it be from family, through scholarships, bursaries or the Ontario Student Assistant Program (OSAP). Through the financial services available to me, I feel and will continue to feel a sense of financial stability which allows me to stay focused on my studies and continue my education, oppose to worrying about how I am going to be able to pay for my living and school expenses. Aside from financial stability, undergraduate students also need leisure time. Leisure time is very important for students because it is a great way to reduce the stress that comes with being a student and it also contributes to a persons well-being (Patry,2007, p.247). Students often become overwhelmed with school work and forget to take time for themselves to do something they truly enjoy which leads to feelings of sadness (Patry,2007, p.248). However, Iwasaki and Mannell (2000) conducted a study that revealed how students were able to reduce stress and enhance their mood through leisure activities such as reading a good book outside or going for a walk with friends, these results ultimately led to self-satisfaction and improved psychological well-being of the participants (Iwaski and Mannell, 2000, p.250). Since coming to university, I personally have found that scheduling at least two hours a day spread out in in thirty-minute time periods, for the gym or other

After a semester of school at UMD, there are many take away points that will stick with me throughout my academic career. One thing that I have learned that will stick with me is that, time management is a useful skill in college and out of college. The official definition of time management stated on Dictionary.com is, “the analysis of how working hours are spent and the prioritization of tasks in order to maximize personal efficiency in the workplace.” (William Collins Sons & Co. 2012) Time management is an important skill to have because it helps you balance your homework, tests, and other extracurricular activates all at one time. This is a crucial skill once you get to college because you have many tasks to complete and usually a long period of time to finish them. Time management skills are also useful in the workplace because it creates a more organized and stress-free work day for yourself, and for your co-workers. Another thing that I took away from the first semester of college is to do all the work and extra work you can. Doing all the work you are required to do is a given because it helps you get the good grades in your classes. However, doing the extra homework becomes very beneficial because it helps raise your grades even more. Throughout my first semester I had many chances in a lot of my classes to do extra credit, the assignments given were not very time consuming and were not difficult at all. I jumped on doing the extra credit because I am always one who likes to do extra work to help raise the grade I already have in the class. A final take away point from my first semester of college is to get involved as a student on campus. Some ways to get involved is to join clubs, go to the library, join organizations, go to on campus

As I graduated high school, I thought college would just be yet another four years of high school, and I was wrong. College opens many new doors in a young man or woman’s life. There are new responsibilities and pressures that you will have to deal with, and with more freedom these responsibilities and pressures can be difficult to handle. College has changed a great deal over the years and these changes, such as more freedoms, make college a much more challenging experience. You need to start preparing for college now by making yourself more responsible and having more self-control. Although you think college is merely partying with easy classes on the side, I have experienced pressures and work loads that make the experience challenging