Week Two

Welcome to this week's topic - Intro to Honors and Time Management (The Week of August 26th)

The second week of college was a quick, positive experience. During the first week, I felt behind, nervous, and stressed. However, the second week proved to be different. I have been spending my time working to get ahead on my classwork and to get organized. Ironically, this week's FYE topic related closely to my current situation. Before I discuss the time management portion of this blog, I would like to reflect on Monday's class topic, Intro to Honors.

On Monday, Dr. Engel (Honors Program Director), Dr. Desiderio (Honors Program Associate Director), and Erin Martin (Honors Program Academic Advisor) visited our class to discuss specific honors program requirements for us students.

Erin Martin (2)

During this helpful discussion, we learned the various requirements needed in order to remain honors program students. Erin Martin presented us with a large amount of information regarding credit hours, advisement, and other academic requirements. She is our honors academic advisor. Because of the large amount of requirements, each honors student has two academic advisors. I was somewhat overwhelmed when I realized how much I will have to complete to remain an honors student. I had heard of most of the information beforehand, but the requirements are now a reality. Fortunately, I have many resources if I ever need additional instruction. For example, I can use the online student resources (1) to track my progress and to make sure I am headed in the right direction. Practically all of the information I need is located on the student resources page. I have access to a list of the program requirements, a link regarding experiential learning, and a link to the academic advisement page.

Dr. Desiderio (3)

Dr. Engel (4)

Dr. Desiderio presented us with more requirements, but his discussion was based heavily upon experiential learning. First, he asked our class what we considered as experiential learning. Many of my classmates gave their opinions. Some suggested volunteer work, and others mentioned study abroad. I introduced the idea of "outside the classroom." Dr. Desiderio declared that all of our ideas were correct. He provided us with a list of different organizations that we are able to volunteer with to receive credit. Later during the week, he sent an email containing all of the information and the specific details he presented us with on Monday. Dr. Engel arrived towards the end of class, and he gave a brief speech outlining the importance of all the requirements. When none of us had any further questions, class was dismissed.

Throughout Monday's class, one action intrigued me the most. Dr. Desiderio and Dr. Engel repeatedly used the word "engage" when they spoke about the honors program. They related this week's class to last week's class topic without even knowing. The overall class furthered my realization about the importance of being engaged.

As I move to reflect on the topic of time management, I would like to discuss two articles dedicated to helping students manage their time. The first article introduces the "GPA of Time Management (5)." In the article GPA stands for Goals, Plan, and Action. One passage centers around the idea that "The way I spend my time must be a reflection of my goals." I can especially relate to this quote and the idea behind it. This week, I have been forced to drop an extracurricular activity so that I will have time for another activity that is more important to me. I did not desire to quit the first, but I had to pick one in order to have enough time to complete my classwork. I am proud of myself for working to manage my time before it is too late. Article two (6) outlines multiple strategies for time management. One strategy includes using a planner. This week, I took all of my class syllabi and wrote down important due dates from the class schedules into my planner. This took a lot of time, effort, and organization, but I now have all of my due dates in one place. I will still reference the original schedules each week to make sure I am not missing anything, but my planner will help me outline my week as best as possible. This article also outlines strategies for note-taking, studying, and test-taking.

Dra. McGrath provided us with a list of different apps available to download on our phones. I downloaded the app, Remember the Milk (7). This app is a simple, helpful tool that allows you to make a list of all of your daily tasks. I like the simplicity of the app and its ability to notify you about upcoming due dates.

Remember the Milk (8)

Taylor led Wednesday's class, which focused on time management. She began the class discussion by asking us how our week was going. After most students expressed their concerns about being overwhelmed by classwork and/or homework, Taylor showed the class a video titled, "Effective Time Management (9)." The video portrays a boy who fails to write his essay the day before it is due only to realize that the next day is Saturday. The video was humorous and relatable. It helped emphasize the importance of learning to manage time. After we watched the video, Taylor gave us a timed group activity. My teammates (Ebeni, Enysa, and Gracie) and I struggled to complete our tasks quickly. We chose our tasks randomly. Our strategy was not very organized, and we failed to receive a large amount of points. At the end of the video, we listened to all of the team strategies. Most teams went down the list to complete the given tasks.

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Taylor gave us a second activity where we each had $86,400 to spend at one time. I enjoyed listening to the different things that each of my classmates decided to buy. For example, Ebeni spent her money on her parents, her college fund, and her future wedding. Emma and I chose to spend some of our money on a trip. Some students were very specific while others, like me, provided very broad answers. Taylor later told us that the $86,400 represented the number of seconds in each day. We must choose how to spend each second; once we use that second, it is gone forever. Taylor divided our current lives into a triangle. The three corners were school, work, and social life. In order to be successful, we must learn to effectively manage all three corners of the triangle, not just one or two. Taylor's advice was very helpful, and I greatly appreciate her guidance.

I enjoyed this week's topics, and I am especially thankful for the time management portion because I am working diligently to organize my time and my life. Thanks for visiting!

Resources:
(1) Student Resources: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/honors/student-resources/
(2, 3, 4) Honors Program Photos: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/honors/about/staff/
(5) GPA of Time Management: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/fye/students/first-year/time/
(6) Strategies for Time Management: https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/counseling/resources/self-help/academic-success/
(7) Remember the Milk:https://www.rememberthemilk.com/about/
(8) Remember the Milk Photo: https://images.app.goo.gl/3mLL5Y5z6FwSVkv79
(9) Effective Time Management Video: https://youtu.be/31mfgrZpLus
(10) Time to Plan Photo: https://images.app.goo.gl/BTCnAoZc7YaEbaWn7

Week One

Welcome to this week's topic - Campus and Community Engagement (The Week of August 19th)

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As I arrived at college Friday (8/16), I was excited, but I was also nervous. I was excited to meet new friends, and I was excited to become involved around campus. However, I was extremely nervous about my classes. Now, as the first week of classes has come to an end, I can proudly state that I am now even more nervous about the remaining semester...

I am a self-critical individual, and I always strive to do my best work. One thing is for sure: In order to be successful this year, I will have to learn how to manage my academic life and my social life so that I will benefit in not just one, but both realms.

FYE 1220 class met twice this week. Although we spent little time in class, I feel more connected to this group of peers and to Taylor and Dra. McGrath than any other class group I have encountered this week. Being surrounded by a small, motivated group of people allows discussions to occur more easily, and it helps connections happen more frequently.

To conduct our first class assignment, each classmate wrote down three adjectives to describe himself/herself. Taylor collected our results and gave each classmate someone else's adjectives. We were then told to get out of our seats to search for the person whose paper we held. This activity was very successful in getting my classmates and I to open up to each other; we became more talkative, and we were able to connect.

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Dra. McGrath provided us with many helpful resources that can assist us now and in the future. As an FYE student, I am required to go to at least two of the campus Success Series (3) events. We talked about these events briefly in class, but after looking at the list on my own, I am positive that I know which two I want to attend based on my interests. After I attend each event, I will speak about the goals and challenges from each, and I will discuss the key takeaways I receive. Dra. also gave us information about networking and mentoring. In order to have a meaningful experience at college, one must be able to communicate with others and to establish connections that could be beneficial in the future. 

On our second day of class, we watched a video titled, "How to graduate college with a job you love & less debt (4)." I related heavily to this video. I have sometimes felt overwhelmed or pressured by others to go into a field where workers make large sums of money. I feel as though others are expecting me to take a certain path when I wish to create my own. My goal is to graduate college with little or no debt and to gain a degree in a field that will provide me with happiness. Whatever my future holds, I want to enjoy my job. A few of my other classmates expressed their concerns for the video. Many felt stressed by the video, and I understand their viewpoint. Talking about the future can be overwhelming, especially since our future lives depend heavily upon our college performance. As a class, we discussed how college is not for everyone. Many people are simply more skilled in areas of trade, and college would be a waste of money and time for those people. I enjoy being able to discuss topics with my classmates, and I love hearing everyone's opinions.

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The outside class readings this week were "Why is Asking for Help so Difficult?" by Alina Tugend (5) and "The Disease of Being Busy" by Omid Safi (6). In Tugend's article, she gives specific tips on learning how to ask for others' help. She states that many people do not ask for help because they are afraid of others' actions. Some people tend to provide help without wanting anything in return, while others desire help without any intention of returning it. Safi's article emphasizes the "busy-ness" of people in today's society. He states,"How are we supposed to live, to examine, to be, to become, to be fully human when we are so busy?" Safi suggests that we slow down to learn how to make meaningful connections with others. In class, we briefly talked about people around campus constantly being on their phones. Once we brought up this topic in class, I started to notice the issue immediately; I even realized that I was often on my phone when I could be doing something else instead. Because of this article and this class discussion, I am trying to train myself to look at my phone only when it is necessary. I need to strive to make actual connections and to establish meaningful relationships with others.

For the last topic on this entry, I would like to discuss specific campus resources (8) available to students at Georgia Southern. Dra. McGrath provided the class with a helpful link so that we may be able to easily discover our available resources. This year, my goal, which I briefly mentioned earlier in this post, is to successfully manage my academic and my social life. I have already started to take part in campus activities; I participated in theatre auditions, and I attended a Bible study this week. I made friends at both events. Academically, I have been staying organized and trying to complete my assignments ahead of time so that I may stay on schedule. The first resource that will be very beneficial to me is academic advising. As a freshman, I am clearly new to the college world. I know little about what exact courses I need to complete, and meeting with my advisor will help broaden my perspective, and it will help me learn to make important decisions regarding which classes will be most valuable to my education. I will schedule a meeting with my advisor when the time comes to register for new classes. A second resource that I will use is campus recreation and intramural sports. I have signed up to participate in intramural sports with Christian Campus Fellowship, and I am excited to get involved. I have been informed that more information about my involvement will arise when the practice dates are finalized. By using both of these resources, I will be able to engage in activities inside and outside the classroom. I strive to become more outgoing this year, and so far, I am on the right path.

I thoroughly enjoyed this week's topic and class discussions! I am excited for next week. Thank you so much for reading my blog!

Resources:
(1) Image : https://images.app.goo.gl/DiVKuVfRmtJeP86N7
(2) Image: https://images.app.goo.gl/tvQeMaE7SWeZskpv7
(3) Success Series: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/fye/students/first-year/success/
(4) Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/29tJAgc54RA
(5) Tugend Article: https://nyti.ms/2jATo9V
(6) Safi Article: https://onbeing.org/blog/the-disease-of-being-busy/
(7) Image: https://images.app.goo.gl/gK2ve6Z6Rn99zjZA8
(8) Campus Resources: https://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/fye/students/first-year/on-campus-resources/