Mid Terms
Every college student I’ve ever known gets ridiculously anxious around the middle of a semester, and the end of one.
That’s not true, that was a lie.
The problem with statements like that is its so broad even though it’s trying to be specific. Do I truly and honestly think EVERY college student I’ve EVER known gets RIDICULOUSLY anxious around mid semester and end of? No, no I don’t. So – to be more specific, although that actually means my statement will be more vague – if you can follow that train of thought…
Most of the college students I’ve met get a bit anxious around the middle of a semester.
(Continuing)
They cram as much information in their minds as they can over the course of a few days in order to spend a few hours showing their teachers what they’ve learned in the past few weeks. It seems to be a waste of time to do it that way.
I have enough anxiety and stress in my day-to-day life that exists without forcing myself into a position of even MORE lack of sleep, resulting in MORE coffee and caffeine shakes and MORE clumsiness and curtness.
Instead, I will pay attention in class, do my homework, do extra work in the areas I’m not confident in, ask questions that help me move forward in the work and I will manage my time as best as I can with what has to get done.
To date:
Stage Management: did not have a mid term
Acting: A-
Voice & Speech: A- on written, will find out tomorrow on oral
Writing: Current grade C, yuck and I turn in my final draft of my comparative essay tomorrow (tuesday)
Logic: Mid Term is next monday. To date I have high marks on all homework and I successfully solved the extra-credit work as well.
Am I a rockstar? eh.
Do I want to be? eh.
Would it be cool if I was? Absolutely.
And so, I will just keep doing what I’m doing and try to get better at that which I am not excelling. But I refuse to get winded, over-whelmed, or terrified because of mid terms.
Posted on November 9, 2010, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Aiyani Mersai 
Whether or not you’re a rockstar, you rock.
Seriously, this is the best and most effective way to treat your classes–like a place to learn, not (just) a place to get grades. Understanding the material (who? what? WHY? when? HOW?) is a far better way to both learn and get good grades than cramming.
That said, I found that I did much better on tests for which I prepared “cheat sheets.” I had some professors who would allow some degree of notes during tests. I had one in particular who was a really good teacher, and would allow both sides of one piece of paper for notes during tests, and they were open book tests. The tests were harder than closed book tests would be of course, and the material lent itself to this format, but I still learned something important from the experience: the process of making the cheat sheet helped me learn the material better. I would get together with a couple other people from my class and we would go through the study guide together and make our “cheat sheets,” which included references to what page in the book to look at for more information, and I found that when it came time for the test I didn’t have to even look at my cheat sheet–the act of preparing it had prepared me for the test enough that I didn’t need it.
So the most important part is the stuff you’re already doing, which is to just do your best to learn the material as you go through class and not get behind in your work. But in addition to that, reviewing the material before the test and preparing a “cheat sheet” even if you won’t eventually use it that way might help too.
And also remember that very few people make it through college having completed all the work they were supposed to. Certainly you should try your damnedest because you’ll get the most education for your money that way, but one of the skills you learn in higher education is how to prioritize your work. Sometimes you have 30 hours of work to do in 20 hours, and you have to choose which 10 to skip, or which 15 to do poorly, or whatever the best decision is under the circumstances. Skipping a lot of sleep and losing some meals here and there happen too, especially if you’re working too, like I was and you are. That’s par for the course, and yet you need to recognize when you just have to sleep/eat/shower/whatever at the expense of your schoolwork. That’s part of the learning process too, part of the experience you’ll be able to apply to later life experiences.
It is hard work, but I know you can do it.