What defines a successful human being? What differentiates greatness from mediocrity? These questions can be answered in so many ways, from so many perspectives, but the first answer that comes to my mind is: Amelia Milne, from California. So many things about her makes her a great and successful human being in my eyes, the most noteworthy one, I’d say, is her balance. This girl has somehow found a way to manage her social life, her schoolwork and her health, all to a very high degree.
Often enough, you can find Amelia in the HMSM lounge doing one of two things: either homework, or helping someone else with their homework. Not only is she a low-key genius, but she is also extremely kind-hearted and always willing to help others in need whether it be with work or anything else really! She claims that, “helping others helps me study too.” Her selfless approach to life and education is something I think we should all strive for.
I recently asked her a couple general questions about her life in school and sports, discovering so many things along the way.
Academically, Amelia is very strong in computer science and in math. She recently got a 100% on her computer science exam. How does she do it? According to her, the first step is to be competitive. She told me that because her friends in class had gotten better grades than her on their last exam, this motivated her to study even harder and to do even better which led to her success (of course!). She has the capability to study for 6-10 hours straight without getting distracted. Initially, I thought this was impossible, mostly because I personally never could, but Amelia revealed her “not so secret secret tip” on how to focus on studies. She said that prior to exams, she would study everyday. The first thing she does being to mentally prepare herself by eliminating all random and irrelevant thoughts from her mind (such as checking her Facebook prior to studying). She does this to make sure that her mind is clear. Next, she says that she ALWAYS eats blueberries before studying. Perhaps this is the breakthrough ingredient in her plan? I think yes. Then, she organizes everything she needs to do on her desk. While she’s studying, she needs to be in a place with lots of people that she doesn’t know (like a library) and listening to classical, piano music. Not to mention, she said that she genuinely really enjoys what she studies, which is definitely helpful in the long run.
Despite her strong academics, Amelia is also very talented in sports. Back in highschool, she used to play baseball which allowed her to develop her hand-eye coordination. This also helped when she began to play water polo in the ninth grade. In the eleventh grade, rather than sticking to being a field player in water polo, she switched to being a goalie. Here at UBC, she plays for the water polo team, and during tournaments she plays on the boys’ team. As if being the only girl on the team isn’t already impressive enough, she was recently, in October, named as not only the goalie of the weekend in the Men’s Collegiate Water Polo League, but also as the athlete of the month by UBC. Again, how does she do it?
Before, she used to practice everyday, now it’s just twice a week. She caters her exercise to doing special workouts specific to goalies (holding a chair over your head as you tread water). She runs everyday, doing those wreck beach stairs and only allows herself junk food on weekends. She claims that “people underestimate the mental game a lot” especially when mentality is a huge link to her success within sports: “mental game is very big in sports.” Apart from being competitive, which is essential as a goalie, she takes on a different approach to the game. Instead of just focusing on the physical, she employs mental strategies such as subconsciously baiting opponents to shoot towards one end of the goal, or by analyzing the other team and focusing on how they’re doing and how they work together.
There are many wonderful things that can be said about Amelia. She is literally the definition of “having your shit together.” And according to her, all it takes to be successful is a combination of being competitive and optimistic. Her competitive mentality urges her to want to be better than everyone else. On the other hand, her optimistic mentality allows her to remain happy, and hopeful that things will workout and lead to better opportunities, as well as allowing her to be more open-minded. That’s an essential part that helps you learn in the long run because you become more open to the ideas of others! Ultimately, “I think most important in life is to be optimistic — if you should have any quality, I think that would be it.
Link to her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amelia.milne.98?ref=ts&fref=ts