F is for Failure

It's going to happen.

If you push yourself out of your comfort zone. If you are willing to put yourself out there, you will eventually fail. It may be minor. It may be epic, but it's failure.

That is good news.  Why? Well, being perfect all the time isn't a reasonable goal. If it's a challenge, you will only set yourself up for anguish and frustration. If it's easy, than why do it? I play rugby. I don't play it well, but I have fun, go places I never would have been to otherwise, and meet new people. A veteran national team player passed along some advice that got her to the World Cup.

Get in there, and if you're going to mess up, make it huge.

Many times, playing safe will cause more problems and lead to more regret than going at it 100%. This is not the same as being foolish. Taking a challenging class can be gutsy. Do-it-yourself bungee jumping is stupid.

It's OK of you aren't spot on all the time.  Learn from what went right and what went wrong and go on from there. I'm going to end this with another quote, this one from Tony Robbins:

Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.

So go out there and and be human!

E is for Effort

If there's one thing that I hear over and over from my students it is this: "Oh, my professor didn't give me extra time. I just got a zero. It wasn't like that in high school."  Now, I'm certainly not beating up on high school teachers. They have a hard job and have to deal with a lot of things I don't have to, but I cannot tell my students enough times that from here on out, either you get things done or you don't. People will help you, but they will not micro-manage you. It's not that we don't care; we simply don't have time.

The key is effort. A friend of mine told me this on the day he graduated medical school: "A monkey can get a medical degree, but he has to be a very determined monkey." This isn't to say that doctors (or any other professional) don't have to be smart, but someone of average intelligence who consistently puts in effort will go farther than the genius who sits back and does nothing.

Keep working. Keep trying. Show me where you got stuck, and I'll help you.  Not even trying and throwing up your hands at the first sign of trouble will get you nowhere.

D is for Dedication

Right now, students in the US are out on spring break. For some, it's a chance to escape books and responsibility, for others, it's an opportunity to pick up extra work hours. It's also past the halfway point of the semester. Those assignments and projects that seemed a million years away are now coming due. Unfortunately, many students drop classes, or just stop showing up, overwhelmed by the pressures of school, home and work.

The unfortunate part is that it doesn't have to be this way. Motivational speaker Tony Robbins has a saying: "If you can't you must, and if you must you can." Think about it. You spent money that won't get refunded and time you can't get back for classes you won't get credit for (if you're lucky), or rewarded with an F and a blow to your GPA (if you're not).

Remember, all your instructors went through the same things you did. Everyone's story may be different, but the struggles are the same. Hang in there. Go to your instructors and talk to them. Get the help you need, but don't quit.

C is for Classes

Hello again!

Today's topic is "Classes," because there is no two ways around it: If you're a student, you have some sort of class to deal with.  Oh, and how we fret over them! Who's teaching the course (ratemyprofessor.com being the place that instructors go when they feel too good about themselves)? What time is it? Do I have to buy the book?

The only important thing to do is to be there. Not just physically (see my post on attendance for more on that), but mentally.  Especially in the college/university setting, spoon feeding is not an option.  In addition, your professor is not given bonus points to give a passing grade just because you're likable.  Higher education is an option you choose. However you feel about it in the moment, you signed up, so get in there and be ready to contribute.

You may end up glad you did, but I'll never tell. ;)

B is for Books

Print books, e-books, rent or buy.  What's going to happen? Who knows?

When it comes to my own selections, I love print books. I love the smell of the binding and ink. I love the notes cribbed in to used books in old second-hand shops, surprises left by strangers whose only connection to me is a love of  good writing.  I also own an e-reader (a Kindle, to be exact). I can also read books on my phone and computer. My e-book purchases tend to be more reference books or volumes that are just too big for me to carry around. I enjoy my e-reader (especially when I don't have to lug 100+ books everywhere).

When it comes to text books, I'm a little more flexible. I understand that e-books are usually cheaper, and they're a lot lighter, as all of them can be loaded on to a laptop or e-reader. I also don't get too upset if the books are rented.  As long as the student gets the correct book and gets their work in on time, I'm good.

What's the future of text books? The publishers love to save on printing costs. They also like being able to come out with new editions as often as possible The idea of a more green text book, that doesn't require trees for paper or gas for shipping is appealing to many people, so the push towards more e-books doesn't seem far-fetched..   Some professors don't care for them, but pretty soon, we may not have a choice in the matter.

A is for Attendance

Ah, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but there isn't a substitute for being there.  You can get notes, you can read chapters, you can talk to the professor, but none of that takes the place of showing up.  That's where you get in to the nooks and crannies of what goes on. That's where you get the little tid bits that others might miss.

Getting in to class on a regular basis and participating helps you because that's when you get your questions answered (and raised). It also gives me more options when  life decides to dump on you, usually when timing is at its worst. Showing up proves your not a drama king/queen.  That's a good thing when you need to ask me for a favor. Doing so when you have had a story every week is not the way to my heart.

Of Challenges and Time Off

The last time you saw me, I was trying to chug out a novel.  Then I dropped off the face of the earth.  Yes, I'm still working on the book, but things slowed due to personal reasons.  I'm trying to come out of my stupor with the A-Z Challenge. Come on back in the month of April and see how I do.