5B How to use Time Wisely?

After completing the time study I found that aside from spending 33 hours of my week on my homework, sadly I spent 77 hours sleeping, but it does give me the energy to get through the week. When the time study was finished and I reviewed how I spent my week, I was disappointed that I only spent 21 hours just for me, and I know that right now focusing on my school work is the most important thing, but it is also important to just have some fun in my life and give my brain a rest, so in the future I want to spend more time with my friends.

            Being a commuter student I have to budget in travel time and between that and getting ready, it took up 18 hours of my week. I think this study help me to realize that if I can find a quicker way to get to Southern then I can use that extra time to get more work done, but also give me more time for relaxing and meeting new people at school but also to keep in touch with my old friends from high school as well.

            During the week study I noticed that I found myself procrastinating on work that had to be done because I felt that I didn’t have enough time to spend with my friends. This weekend was the Guilford Fair, and I had a PowerPoint project that was due on Monday for my Recreation and Leisure class, and I had yet to start it. Instead of working on the project I chose to go to the fair, not only Friday Night but I also went Saturday too and when Sunday came I felt the pressure of having to get it done but still be acceptable. I think a method that was talked about in one of the readings could help prevent procrastination and still have time to spend to do what you enjoy, and it was over-scheduling. If you give yourself more time for the things you need to get done, when you’re finished you are left with extra time that you can use to meet up with some friends or just relax.

5A Are Your Academic Methods Working for You?

         These first four weeks have been a drastic change from my life at high school, and I had a find a way to adapt to the college life fast to not risk getting behind and failing. So far I am proud of the work that I have done, and it has shown in my classes by only getting one “B+” and the rest “A’s” but I know that I can do more. Being a college student is definitely harder than it was at high school, but I found that if you budget your time wisely, the work becomes more manageable and doesn’t seem to consume you. So far in these first four weeks I have not had any failures, and I am happy about that, but I have had some close calls. For instance in my Recreation and Leisure class I had to have an assignment posted on Blackboard at 6PM and I remembered I had to do it at 4:30, and luckily I got it done and posted in time.

            After having that experience, I know I don’t want to feel that stress again, and after reading through some of the articles there was one that really stood out to be and I think could actually help bring success to my academic life. The article described the “autopilot schedule” what this basically means is that you set aside a specific time and place for you to work on an assignment, and if you don’t do it in that time then you lose the opportunity to get it done. This method is a good idea for academic success because it target one of the major issues that college students face, procrastination, and if you beat procrastination then you can become more successful in your classes.

            For the rest of the semester I plan on still trying to get good grades, but instead on just focusing on the grade itself, I will give more attention to why it is I got the grade I got, and how I can improve and work on fixing the methods of studying that I have that aren’t seeming to be beneficial to my work and intern myself.

5V Are You Part of an Agency?

Agency:1) a business that provides a particular service
              2)the capacity, condition, or state or acting or of exerting power

               After searching the word “agency” on the internet, the first response was; a business that provides a particular service. After reading that definition I tried thinking about how it related to my major, or if it even did. Being a sports management major can give me the opportunity to represent some of the top agents in the world, and if I were to become an agent then that means I would be a part of the sports agency. What I came to realize is that every major can some relate to an agency.

                During my Sociology class a couple of words came up and I thought they went hand and hand with me becoming a sports agent; they were précising and persuasive. If I want to become an agent for hopefully an NHL player then I need to learn how to be precise in giving specific salary information to them and dealing with their contracts, but I also need to be persuasive so I can get them to agree to do something that can help better them, even if they don’t see it right then and there.

5I #23 A Trip to New Haven

                Even though I’m a country girl at heart, there is still something to be said about going to Downtown New Haven on a Saturday and just spending the day with your mom. I know the blog assignment said to take the bus, but when your mom lived in New Haven her whole life, we decided to just park in one of the parking garages and walk around taking in all the sites, but the bus is a great alternative to those who don’t want to park in New Haven so here is a link to the schedule:http://www.cttransit.com/Uploads_Schedules/nh_Bwhalley_satsunsched.pdf

                Our first stop brought us to the Grove Street Cemetery, where Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, is buried. Although many people think that it is strange that I enjoy walking around a cemetery looking at all the graves, but I do it because looking at the dates just shows you how historic not only your town is, but also the state of Connecticut itself. After looking at the tombstones for a while it was coming close to lunch so we headed on over to Pepe’s down on Wooster Street, which in my opinion is the only place to go for pizza, and like usual during the summer and fall that place gets packed, but it definitely worth the wait; but if pizza isn’t your thing, then I would recommend you going to Shake Shack on Chapel Street, their food is really good and they have a menu for your dog!! Finally we ended are day by going Yale University on College Street because the architecture of the buildings is just amazing!!!

                Going to downtown New Haven always brings out the city girl inside of me, and I just love looking at all of the buildings and knowing that aside from all the bad things you hear about New Haven, it is a town full of culture and history.

(Eli Whitney's tombstone from the Grove Street Cemetery)

4B What Inquiry Questions Do You Have?

                This week’s reading assignments brought up some interesting topics, like the idea that delayed gratification will bring success if taught at a young age, but the reading also brought some questions to my attention as well.

                Do you think as Americans we have a lack of delayed gratification because we are so used to not having to wait for a long time to get what we want?

                In my opinion I believe that compared to other cultures we do have a lack of delayed gratification. In the TED video it was said that only 1/3 of American children were able to not eat the marshmallow, but when he did the same study on Korean kids almost all of them did not eat it. In the article “Don’t, the Secret of Self-control, “they successfully delayed gratification…these kids wrestled with temptation but found a way to resist temptation”. I think the reason why only 1/3 of children could resist temptation is because as a society we lost the idea of how important that concept is and that’s due to technology.  While I feel that technology is replacing our basic, but important concepts in life, others could argue that technology isn’t hindering our success but instead improving it, because technology is the reason our country is so advanced and ahead of others.

                Another question I have was, does self-control have a greater correlation between delayed gratification of willpower? Or are the two the same thing?

                I don’t think that delayed gratification and willpower is exactly the same thing, but that the both play a role in self-control. In the article, “Resistance Training for your ‘Willpower’ Muscles”, it says “the power to resist temptation is our ‘greatest human strength’”, and that “people who exercise their willpower frequently have better self-control”. I agree with what this article is saying, the more you can resist the temptation and fight the struggle that comes with it, the more you will be able to resist temptation in the future. It also said that when you don’t exercise your willpower often your exhaust it all on one thing and then it leaves your body feeling drained and fatigued which is bad for your health. Whether you think self-control is only connected to either willpower or delayed gratification, or if you think it’s both, like I do, you can’t argue the fact that you can’t have self-control unless you exercise one of these concepts in your daily life.  

4I #7 Are You a Gym Junkie???

                For like myself and many others, I find that exercising is a great way to relieve stress and stay in shape as well, and the Southern Connecticut fitness center is a great place to join. To join it is $60 a semester, which is really a good deal because it is right on campus so  you don’t have to waste your time to drive to a gym or spend your money on gas!!! I know for me that is a huge plus!! The fitness center has great hours that will fit anyone’s schedule; they’re open Monday-Thursday from 7am-10pm, from 7am-8pm on Fridays, from 9:30-4:30 on Saturdays and on Sundays from 2-7pm. I say that those are some pretty nice hours!

                I am a yoga fanatic!!! When I’m stressed that is what I resort to, and they have a class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5-6pm, but if you want to take the class space is limited and you have to sign up 15 minutes before. Well maybe you’re not a yoga fan but instead are into running, that’s fine and they have any kind of equipment that you can think of. They have everything from treadmills, bikes, elliptical, and every type of weight training machines that you could think of!! They also have free weights and balance disks and medicine balls all at your convince. Even if you are a commuter like I am, I would highly recommend spending the $60 to join instead of going to some other gym, it’s a chance to meet new people and it is just easy to go to because there are no hidden fees and its hassle free!! Can your gym say that??

http://southernct.edu/student-life/health/fitness-center/index.html
(my friend trying to take a pic of me doing a sit-up...I think she failed!!)

4V Delayed Gratification? What's That?

Delayed Gratification: the ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward.





Willpower: 1) the strengths of will to carry out one's decisions, wishes, or plans.



                   2) the ability to control oneself and determine one's actions.
Metacognition: awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes.

 

What is delayed gratification? Basically it is just self-control, holding out on temptation for a greater reward. Delayed gratification is important because it helps you realize and teaches you that waiting for something, instead of just settling for what’s easier is the smarter choice because it helps to teach and define self-control which is an important trait to have going through life.

Willpower, which is the ability to carry out one’s desires, and metacognition, thinking about thinking, also go along with delayed gratification. Willpower helps a person to resist the temptations of taking the road where you won’t face that hard of a challenge, and metacognition allows the person to think a situation through more carefully and help them to come to the conclusion that the reward for waiting is greater than settling for what is convenient.

4ATo Wait or Not To Wait?

I remember how I couldn’t wait to turn 16 so I could get my license, why? Because I wanted that freedom and independence, and now that I have it I know that it was definitely worth the wait. The same thing applies to our future jobs, sure you’re going to have some not so great ones on the way to getting towards your dream job, but once you get there it is going to be amazing!!! It will be great because all of your hard work and dedication paid off and now you’re in the position you always wanted to be in.

                As individuals I think many of us have the patience to delay gratification, but as a society I think we lack that skill and instead value instant gratification. As Americans in today’s word we’re not used to waiting anymore, if we have a question we don’t have to spend hours searching for it, now we just use the internet and get the answer in as little as 2 seconds. I don’t think that we a society value delayed gratification as highly as we should, and as a result it is showing in our children. In the article, “Don’t, the Secret of Success”, it says “Children who rang the bell quickly, seemed to have more behavioral problems at home and at school”. Children are having trouble waiting for the greater reward, but it is not only them, adults are having the same issues.

The American society, to me, seems to be a giant marshmallow test, and we’re like the 2/3 of the kids who couldn’t wait; instead of holding out for what could be better for us in the long run we choose to settle for what is right in front of us because it is easy and more convenient. I think Americans are like that because of our dependency on technology. Our society is always making new strides in the world of technology, and because of that we lost our will and desire to overcome a challenge and see the reward for your effort and perseverance, but rather we choose to look for the easy way out and don’t seem to care about how we get to the rewards, just as long as we get it.  

3B History...Boring to Some, Interesting to Me!

 

U.S. History, it has absolutely nothing to do with sports management, but it has always been a subject that I enjoy and want to learn more about. It is strange because I have taken other history courses, and yes they all have their interesting points, but it has always been U.S. History that just stuck with me. I think what motivates me to do well in this course is because I am learning about the reasons that brought us to where we are today. Think about, if Thomas Jefferson never purchased the territory from the French in 1803, we would have never gotten Louisiana. History motivates me to learn more about it because you’re not only learning what  others before us sacrificed so we can be where we are in the world now, but also it is just about giving credit to those who fought for what they loved and believed in.

I know that not every subject I take is going to be appealing to me, but I can use what motivates me in U.S. History to help motivate me in my other courses. I believe that you can channel the courses that interest you into the courses that don’t. I am not a science person, and if I was taking a chemistry class, I would put my love for history into that class, meaning I would research the scientists who came up with certain theories and formulas, and when comes time to apply those formulas in my head I would be thinking about the scientists and where we would be if not for them, while I was doing the problem. I know it may sound like a lot going through your head while you’re trying to get the work done, but I think it would help me do better in the class.

When it comes to the courses you take in college and your future, I think we can all be motivated to do well in areas that we don’t find easy to us if we just channel what we love into everything that we do, and intern that will help us to become more motivated.

 

3A Shakespeare Said What???

I recognized right away that this quote was from Hamlet, being that it was the last play I read. When I heard the quote for the time and reading now again, the same word had popped into my head, and that is choices. As humans we chose to label our experiences as either good or bad, and only we can truly know what is good or bad for ourselves. While others may share the same types of situations in their lives, that you yourself have had, only they might view it differently than you and that is perfectly okay.

                This quote in my opinion reflects and to a point summarizes the articles that we had to read for class this week, for instance this shown through the two different types of mindsets; growth and fixed. A growth mindset allows you to see that qualities can be gained through development and effort, where as a fixed mindset, it is believed that your traits and abilities are just given. This applies to the quote because a person can choose which type of mindset would better suite them, and yes it seems obvious that having a growth mindset would appear to be the better choice, but it can be argued that a fixed mindset may in some ways be the better choice for someone.  

                Shakespeare’s quote also connects to the idea of motivation, both intrinsic, exists within the individual, and extrinsic, coming from outside the individual. This again boils down the choices. Are we going to have others be the reason behind our motivation, or are we going to be motivated by ourselves? If we choose to have an outside force be what motivates us, then in my opinion, we aren’t trying to please ourselves but instead please the external force instead. The quote is relevant to our everyday lives because it makes us see that we are able to decide what will be good for us, and in the end make us happy, and that is the most important thing.

3V What Motivates You

Motivation: 1.the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. 

                       2. the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Self-Esteem: 1. confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect 

Mindset: 1. the established set of attitudes held by someone.

Motivation plays a pivotal role in the success of any college student, but there are many things that contribute to motivation that I found while I was doing the reading for class on Tuesday. The words self-esteem and mindset kept popping up and I thought I would find out the exact definitions for them. Motivation is what helps students write the 10 page research papers on a topic that isn’t very interesting or makes an athlete push themselves that extra mile everyday so they will be ready by the time tryouts roll along.

Motivation is a great thing to have, but it can be hindered if someone doesn’t have the right mindset or low self-esteem. If someone tells somebody that they will never be a successful doctor, then that person is going to quit trying because they will believe that they won’t ever be successful. The same thing applies to the mindset that a person has, either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A person with a fixed mindset believes that their traits and qualities are from birth and cannot be changed while a person with a growth mindset believes that there is always room for improvement and that comes from facing challenges and learning new things.  Motivation, high self-esteem, and the right mindset will help you to achieve whatever it is that you want to do.    

3I #5 Lets Go Owls!!!

I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t know anything about football, but that that didn’t stop me from going to the first home game of the season. Although they lost to Indiana University of Pennsylvania 30-20, the game taught me something about Southern. I have never seen with as much school spirit as we do! There was a group of guys sitting to the right of me who were the definition of school spirit; no matter what was going on in the game they never stooped cheering. They even took off their shirts and had GO SOUTHERN! written on their chests, it was hilarious! Even if you’re not a sports fan, I would recommend going to at least one of the games, without a doubt it will make you proud to be an owl!!

2V What is Initiative?

Initiative: 1. the ability to asses and initiate things independently.

                 2. to take charge before others do.

Self-Serving Bias:  people's tendency to attribute positive outcomes to personal factors, but                                attribute negative outcomes to external factors.

Logic :reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity

 

According to the dictionary initiative means asses things independently and to take charge, and I think that relates to what all of our professors are trying to teach us. High school was different, when learned differently, it was more group centered thinking, but here at college the only way to survive is to become an independent thinker and that is where initiative comes into play.  There countless of resources available to us here at Southern, but if we don’t take charge and use them when we are struggling, then they just become another room in the halls of Engleman.

                The words self-serving bias and logic came up in my Sociology class and they seemed to go hand in hand with what initiative is all about. Self-serving bias is simply the tendency to overrate yourself, and although it is great to take to bull by the horns and go work on something new, but if you are one of those people who think that no matter what they do is always great, then you are never really going to be successful with what you’re doing. When deciding to start a new project there has to be some kind of logic behind it. If you have a paper you have to write and you don’t plan out what you’re going to write, it is not going to make sense and as a result you will receive a grade that is never good to see.

                Overall taking the initiative is always a good thing, but in order to do it successfully you have to remember to think everything through and never overrate yourself to the point where you think that you can do no wrong.

2B The Life of a Soon to be Sorority Girl

I have always been that quiet girl who is deathly afraid to go and join in on a conversation, and being a sports management major that’s going to require me to be able to speak to a crowded room.  When I came to college I decided that that wasn’t going to be who I am anymore, and last night I made the first step towards reinventing myself for the better. This month is rush week for the sororities and I went to the mocktail mixer for Omega Zeta Pi, a local sorority at Southern.  Listening to the sisters talk about the sorority has done for them, making them more social and more involved, is exactly what I have been looking for.  I have had the same best friend from middle school, and now that were going to separate colleges, that feeling of closeness with someone is gone and there is a void inside of me that needs to be filled, and I feel that I can get that from Omega Zeta Pi. Hearing what the members had to say made me realize that a sorority is more than just a place to party, it is a place where you meet lifelong friends and meet people who want to help you and will be there for you whenever you need, no matter the time or place.

                For the first time I wasn’t afraid to just jump in and start talking to people that I have never met before. Omega Zeta Pi made you feel like it was okay to just people yourself, and that they would accept you no matter who you are or where you came from. Going to the mocktail mixer last night felt like, not only the first step but the right step towards making me come out of my shell and not be so shy, and I think that going to more of the events that are held during rush week will definitely help to become a more open and talkative person.

2I My Quiet Serenity

When it comes to studying most people need a quiet place and I know it may sound cliché but the Southern library is the perfect place. Everyone who has attended orientation knows where the library is, to left of the student center, and has heard repeatedly that it is a great place to get your homework done.  Well they’re right and I found the perfect spot inside. As soon as you walk through the doors you go straight towards the windows looking onto Fitch Street, and along the side wall there is a table that is tucked into the corner. For someone who is looking for a place to do work in piece, guess what? This is going to be your dream come true! The library is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, if anyone is searching for a new place to study then I definitely recommend the Buley Library; going there may be the best decision you have ever made when it comes to finding a place to study.

2A The Key to Success

                                                                        

Each article that we had to read all had interesting points, and all discussed topics that I myself had been concerned about being able to do and have questioned, but there were two articles in particular that stuck with me. The first one was from “Work Hard or Work Smart?” The author emphasized that the key to being a successful worker is that you need to find the balance and be able to work both hard and smart. You can’t have one without the other, just like you can’t make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with only jelly.  They made it easy to understand that anyone can achieve this; they suggest that you make a plan for the week and layout everything that you have to get done, once you have this plan then that is when you can begin to work on the plan. I find this article useful because it helps to eliminate the stress that college students have trying to get all of their work done on time. Making a plan for the week ahead is a good way to stay organized and stay on task. The article that was useful to me was “How to Become a Deeper Thinker at College”.  This article somewhat mimics that of “Work Hard or Work Smart?”; they too suggest that you make a plan, but unlike the plan in the previous article this plan is to help manage your time.  They suggest that what makes a deep college thinker is time, and I agree with them.  They said that the students who become the deeper thinkers “are those who have more than enough time to think about, work on, grapple with, and revel in their coursework”. It also said that “less than half of you courses should be about something you already know about”. A student will be more interested during class and more willing to learn if they haven’t already been taught the information beforehand. What both these articles are talking about is time management, and in my opinion is something every college student needs to learn because it is one of the most important tools to have if you expect to be successful in anything you do, not only your classwork.