Sometimes You've Got to Flop Before You Can Flock

Hello, class of 2018! Wow, that is the weirdest thing in the world to say, but I guess that I'll be saying that one day. So much has happened in the past year that I can only imagine what it'll be like when I'm a junior. Here is what I would say to them:

Converse was my dream place to go to school so when I first came here, I thought it was going to be perfect. I loved what I was going to school for and every class was going to be enjoyable.  

I was proven wrong. 

Yes, I have enjoyed my time at Converse so far, but there have been some bumps in the road. First of all, It is so hard to know how to be organized for classes. They're not much different from high school classes, but the hardest part is keeping all of them straight. In high school, it seemed like all of your classes were related in some way, but in college, some days I feel SO scattered. The main thing to keep in mind is on to stay on top of EVERYTHING! Secondly, you have got to have passion. According to Dictionary.com, passion is "any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling". Music has always been a strong part of my life but I didn't realize how much until I got to college. College stretches your passion for something in ways you can't imagine. At Converse, I knew I was going to have to be in the music building a lot, but I never realized just how much! I practically LIVE in the music building now, which at times isn't so bad but other times it is miserable. So I advice you to go into something you're sightly obsessed with. 

One of the biggest surprises when I got here was how casually some aspects of college were handled but how professionally others were treated. For instance, the attendance policy is based on you. If you go to class, YOU benefit from the class. Professors normally don't care. When it comes to performances on the other hand, professors expect you to be professional, well put together, punctual, and responsible for your actions during the performance or recital. This is something a little different than how most high schools treat their students.

Socially, the biggest advice I would give would be to learn to say no. It's never fun to say no, but sometimes you HAVE to say no! If you say yes to every little thing, you'll end up so busy, you won't be able to get up and go with friends to get frozen yogurt or simply hang out with your hall mates. Also, college makes you rub shoulders with all kinds of people, so take the opportunity to learn from them. Be open to everything, but stand your ground on what you believe are right. Living with a roommate is probably the biggest challenge I have overcome. Everyone is different and has certain quirks. This can make living with someone else kind of hard. The best thing to do is like I said before, be open to everyone and be PATIENT with one another. 

The most important thing I would tell you, class of 2018, as cheesy as it may seem, is to BE YOURSELF! Don't let anyone change who you are. Make your own decisions and do your own work so that YOU can learn. Enjoy the decisions you make and be confident in them. 

Good luck, Class of 2018 and remember the Class of 2016 is here for you anytime you need anything!

Why Did The Little Boy Throw The Clock Out The Window? To Watch Time Fly!

       Time always seems to be chasing me or I'm chasing it. I don't know which way it should really go, but either way I never seem to have enough hours in the day! I always have five billion things on my to-do-list and somehow I still forget things. You know that feeling when you're going on a trip and you feel like you're forgetting something? Yeah, that's me. 

Not only am I a little forgetful sometimes, I also have a lot on my plate. (My plate should probably be a Dixie ultra-plate because they're supposed to be the sturdiest kind.) First of all, I have 18 hours in my schedule along with all the homework that goes with that. I also have three instruments to practice daily which is crazy hard on some days. I have a job back at home that I have to go to on some weekends, a boyfriend that goes to school in Anderson (yes, boyfriends are great but you do have to fit them into your schedule) and friends at school and home. Even by just listing all these things, I get nervous about not being able to keep them all straight. My absolute biggest problem is just that, keeping everything straight! I'm not the most unorganized person in the world, but I know for sure I'm not the most organized either. One thing I have found useful during college so far is to write something down the second I think of it. This way I have a nice organized list that can await me while I'm finishing what I'm currently doing and I get the satisfaction of striking through it when I finish it.

Some other smaller factors that probably contribute to keeping me from doing my work are simply not planning enough time to do something and socializing. It's probably all three put together that get me into trouble. Somehow I always ends up taking 30 minutes on something I only planned to take 15 minutes on. Then my friends start cutting up and laughing down the hall and I can't resist.  It kills the little time management I try to do which in turn discourages me from even trying to manage my time. I haven't exactly found a solution to this problem yet so any suggestions would be appreciated. I've tried building in extra time as a cushion and for some reason that never works. And the socializing? I don't really know if there's a solution there for this butterfly.

Another big problem I have with time management is having a tendency to love sleep but at the same time love staying up. (Don't even ask how that works.) I know a lot of people have the same kind of problem so here's my advice.  My way to combat this is to set 3 alarms. Some people are like "are you kidding me? Three ALARMS???" And I simply say, yes three alarms with a smile on my face. For instance, if I need to get up at 7:30, I set my my first alarm for 7:15 and then another for 7:25. This way I have ten minutes to be in the sleepy state, you know where your eyes will barely open. Then I have five more minutes to be awake and enjoy my bed, think about what I have to look forward to in the day, and plan either what I'm going to do that day or what I'm going to wear. This method really does help motive me and still gives me that nice slow wake up everyone enjoys. 

Hopefully, all of the freshmen can find our own groove of how to manage our time so that we can be the most organized, well rested class Converse has ever seen. Here's to Sweet dreams, Happy Mornings, and Good Managing!