How I survived and left college with okay grades while still being sane.

"Studying... what is it good for?" but seriously who's got time to study for classes? Some people in college have a rule, like for every unit/hour of class you have you should study for 4 hours every week.

Only the most timely memes and discussion.

So if you have an 18 unit load or 18 hours of class per week, you should be studying for 72 hours every week. So if that was your load, you will spend 12 hours EVERY DAY studying. "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

Thus this has prompted me to share my study habits for how I survived college and still stay somewhat happy about living. With many students going on this school year braving the "new normal" I thought I would share some of the things I did in college that enabled me to become a "good student". I personally don't consider myself a good student but 'ya know. I survived most of the tests that I faced so I think it will be fine.

Quick disclaimer: I am not claiming these methods to be a one size fits all thing nor am I enforcing you to do it. I am just sharing what worked for me so that you can examine what's happening in your life in order to see what can be improved from my methods and what you think is alright with you.

1. Learn at your own terms.

Have you seen me reviewing? Not really. Most likely you'll see me that I am having fun. That is my prescription for you. Have fun. If you enjoy participating in something, you will take the time to go out of your way to learn more about it.

Let me demonstrate it to you something which I call a Wikipedia Expedition. Which basically is starting from the origin article and ending up in an article that has no more relation to the original article. It goes like this:

Let's say you are a fan of strategy games, Command and Conquer, and such. That means you're interested in things Military. Hop on to Wikipedia and browse the article on the Military. Something else catches your eye, what is a colonel and why do we read it like corn. You brach off from military to Colonel. You see that it's the 2nd to the highest rank in most countries but the highest in Vatican City and Monaco. You scroll further to see, "Other uses of Colonel ranks", you previously read that Colonel is also used as an honorific title. Therefore it's no surprise to read that Kentucky has Colonel as its highest title of honor. The most notable person being Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. You can click on either but I click on Harland Sanders. I read through, there are lots of branches to go through. I click on South Salt Lake, Utah the location of the first KFC because I just finished watching the Book of Mormon so it added to my curiosity. I read through and I find that Edwin Catmull the president of Pixar went to high school there. I like Pixar but I have no idea who this person is. What kind of films did he have a hand on? I click the name. Apparently he is the co-founder and now president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

See how I was able to move from The Military to Pixar's President. I could go on and on, and usually, I do. I would sometimes have multiple tabs of Wikipedia open as I would go through there and look at all of the different branching paths that I could have taken. This is the kind of learning I would encourage other people to do. Don't learn because you need to know the subject, instead start from something you know, then find how that connects to what you know. Or maybe just read the Wikipedia Article of that thing you need to know so you have an idea of what to learn when you go to more academic and scholarly texts. The way to learning is rich and multi-faceted that's why you should go learn what you want to learn.

2. Handwrite your notes.

I remember a wise professor reminding me and my classmates at the time that writing notes is important as proven in studies. I've never had this habit until college. I would write these long arrows writing down the relationship of different concepts to each other and such. I've seen the effect, albeit, informally because in some classes I am too lazy to write down notes. Specifically when I am in a class where the professor is just reading the book. So I would pretend to write, by doodling in my notebook. I can still remember things, as it has been studied that doodling enables me to listen properly still.

I've researched various methods before of how to write down notes. There's the one where you have to separate your scratch and actual written note. There's one wherein one page you have the scratch, the main idea, then the subpoints. I've tried all of those things to no avail. What really worked for me was writing the main idea and having the idea revolve around each other and hybridizing this with parts that I use to highlight a statement or any piece of information that I need to remember.

3. Do schoolwork today, so you can relax tomorrow.

When I was young, my father would always tell me to finish my homework so that I can relax without worrying about the tasks that I have to do. Ever since then, I picked up that attitude when it comes to tasks. If I can finish everything, I am living a slightly better life than procrastinating. I don't like the feeling of being rushed nor being on time pressure so I prefer to relent and finish the things I have to do so I can go on and play video games or watch Netflix, or whatever else I am spending my time on. While, there is certainly merit to working under pressure, I am a person who follows the path of least resistance.

Now, that attitude did change when I started working. The problem with full-time jobs is that they occupy your time with busy work which is not even worthwhile. Like, why make a person type a printed document when you can just scan the document if you're going to send it as a pdf anyway? So, DEFINITELY, this is a student thing unless you work at a job that has your tasks set in stone instead of whatever the supervisor thinks of you doing since you look like you're doing nothing. (I am afraid, that rules out teachers.)

Side Note:

Just because I excelled academically doesn't mean that I am a good student. I skipped on a lot of school activities and get-togethers with many friends. I guess, the pressure is just different when you see yourself losing your scholarship just hanging there like the Sword of Damocles. I would suggest a few improvements, especially in the social department.

We broke the school's (1.00-5.00) Grading system.

1. Find Friends - I was lucky to stumble on a group of friends who were academically competitive which rubbed off on me. Not all are as lucky but try to find people who want to see you grow. (AND I DON'T MEAN IN THE NETWORKING KIND OF WAY)

2. Join activities and organizations - I never got to participate in any because I was studying 6 days of the week, and at church for the 6th and 7th (sometimes even more). If you have the free time, unlike me, join orgs where people like you share values, interests, and such. I heard they're somewhat beneficial but it's more for the experience. The joy of participation.

3. "GWA bago Jowa" - A phrase often used by single people in college. Mildly heed their advice. Don't try to force a relationship but if it happens, just let it happen. Just remember that grades are your first priority. If your grades suffer because of your partner, they don't deserve a place in your life because it means that they don't want to see you succeed. That their carnal interests are more important that your self-actualization.

In conclusion.

Learning is an essential process for succeeding in educational institutions. If you want to succeed in the process of learning, these are some of the things that worked for me. It doesn't mean it will work for you but the probability is up there. I wish you luck as you move forward this school year.

Peace, love, and more Wikipedia Expeditions for you all.