As I arrived to Pitt for my second semester I realized one thing: I have no idea how the hell I survived last semester. Between an absurd amount of finals, papers, commitments, overeating and failing health – I honestly have no idea. So I decided to cleanse myself of all the horrible habits I had last semester, the semester before that…and let’s be real, the semester before that one too. Here are the vows I have made to change and improve myself this semester. I hope they last longer than my mothers predicted three weeks or my sister’s, which gave me until Tuesday.
Organization
My organization is abysmal. I search for a paper for 20 minutes to find it on top of a shelf that I already searched twice. I vow to be organized. I have already cleaned my desk: thrown out strewn papers and hid books that I don’t need. My workspace is clean and neat, and oddly enough, I feel like my brain is also clutter free.
Procrastination
This is by far the worst. I see on my calendar that I have a paper due in two weeks. The organized, polished smart me drafts the paper, takes it to the writing center, fixes it once, fixes it twice, has a peer read it, fixes it again and finally hands it in to receive an A. The real me writes it in about 6 hours the night before the final copy is due. No more. I vow to do things ahead of time. I figure if I get homework and studying done ahead of time, my free time in the future opens up, and my stress will decrease tremendously! I’ll have more time to read, write and partake in a very important activity… sleep.
Sleep
Sleep is a foreign concept to me. Staying up late and barely making it to class on time pretty much summarizes the entire month of December and okay, the entire month of November as well. I vow to get to bed early. No more drinking caffeine after 3 pm. I want to (try) to get to bed by 1:00 A.M. every night. It will be extremely difficult for me, given that all of my friends are night owls. But when I get enough sleep, I will have a fresher and brighter outlook on the day, hopefully, because I really, really hate mornings.
And finally, I vow I to slow down
I’m flying around worried about what I’m going to major in, future careers, boys, friends and I’m missing the big picture: College is a time to enjoy, to mess up and to learn. In fact, just as I finish typing up these final words, somehow three papers, a Frito and a pen have managed to find their way onto my desk. And you know what? I put them all away. Except the Frito, I ate that. But overall I’m off to a good start.
HC wants to know what are some of your vows for the new semester?