Be Your Best Student

The Huffington Post published an article a few years back giving college students some ideas about things they might want to ask their professors and also topics from which they probably want to steer clear. Today’s question that you might want to ask your instructor: what can I do to improve my writing? When students ask me about improving their writing, it typically comes after receiving a poor grade or review on a paper or assignment (some clear indicator that improvement is required). There are so many ways to improve writing. Here are some of my favorite tips: ·          Give yourself time to write. Lack of planning when it comes to writing a paper typically means a lot of last-minute work that is not your best work (no matter how much students try to convince themselves that they “work best under pressure”). You simply don’t have the time required to write drafts, edit, and revise if you’re writing your paper the night before it’...

The Huffington Post published an article a few years back giving college students some ideas about things they might want to ask their professors and also topics from which they probably want to steer clear. Today’s question that you might want to ask your instructor: can I count on you to write me a good reference letter? I’ve had many students ask me to write a letter of reference over the years and this can make for a very awkward discussion in some cases. A letter of reference means that this instructor is putting their reputation on the line and vouching for you as a good, hard-working student and human. So before you even ask for a letter of reference, here are some things to consider: ·          Do you know the instructor well enough to ask for a letter of reference? If you don’t have a solid professional/academic relationship with your instructor, you shouldn’t be asking for a letter of reference. ·     ...

The Huffington Post published an article a few years back giving college students some ideas about things they might want to ask their professors and also topics from which they probably want to steer clear. Today’s question that you might want to ask your instructor: how can I get an A in your class? There are so many things to talk about when answering this question, so I’ll be as brief as possible while trying to hit all the highlights! ·          Show up! Coming to class is the first step in success, and if you’re in an online class, this means logging in at least 4-5 times per week and participating in the discussion forums. There is so much to be gained by simply showing up! ·          Be prepared! You must have the essentials: paper, pencil, computer, internet, textbook. None of these is optional. If aren’t going to have the required course materials, don’t bother signing up for classes...

The Huffington Post published an article a few years back giving college students some ideas about things they might want to ask their professors and also topics from which they probably want to steer clear. This week, I’ll be answering a few of these questions in the blog – even if I’m not your professor, it will probably enlighten you about what’s going on on the other side of the teacher’s desk! I hope you’ll join me! Kelley

As a college instructor, I meet a wide variety of students – some are freshmen just starting out and some are graduating and ready to move into their career. In both cases, there is often a lot of apprehension about their future career: ·          Did I make the right choice? ·          Will I make the right choice? ·          What if I got a degree and never find a job? ·          What if I can’t ever pay off my school loans? There is so much uncertainty at this point in life, especially if you’re young and looking for your first career, but let’s examine why it’s so difficult to choose a career path in the first place. The possibilities are limitless. While we can all agree that having someone else choose your career for you wouldn’t be fun and probably wouldn’t end up with you finding your true calling, it...

My son has taken up the fine art of yo-yoing, and I’ll be honest – it’s downright amazing at what one can do with a yo-yo given YouTube tutorials and a lot of practice (and a parent that helps him figure things out like different types of yo-yo string and different bearings – who knew yo-yos could be so complicated!). As he throws the yo-yo around at speeds which I’m quite certain would break a wrist or a finger if it accidentally collided with his person, all I can see is the life of an inconsistent student. One of the problems students who come to me often face is inconsistency. Yes, it’s a self-inflicted problem, but being inconsistent isn’t always obvious to students (it’s always harder to see faults or problems in ourselves than it is in others). One of the key excuses/reasons I get for inconsistency is: I have to take time where I can get it and while that may be inconsistent it’s all I have. So you study hard for a weekend, and then no studying throughout the week. During ...

I have often said before that the fine art of taking notes seemed to start its slow death right around the time PowerPoint came into being. Suddenly, students had a visual aid that their brains translated into: notes already taken. Pens and pencils were set down, paper was put away, and students were freed to lazily doze and/or passively listen to whatever the instructor was droning on about. This kind of passive action is the absolute best scenario if you want a future of performing poorly on quizzes and tests, not knowing your classmates and instructors, and earning an overall grade in the course that will make you terribly unhappy at the end of the semester. So let’s take a look at some tips that may help you to take better notes in the classroom and thus perform better overall in your college classes: ·           Stay organized. I can’t say this often (or loudly) enough. One of the golden keys to a successful college experience is ke...

We’ve spent the week discussing ways in which we sabotage parts of our lives, but what’s probably most important is how this daily dirty work affects our overall well-being. It’s hard to keep tabs on our brain running amok all day long and we have things to focus on (school, work, relationships) other than what our brain is chattering about. How in the world are we supposed to take care of our own well-being with all this going on in our minds and around us? Each of us really has to find our own way to keep ourselves on a positive, healthy track. I can share some ideas that I have found helpful: ·          Take time for yourself. I have a student who works full time and takes four college courses, but she still takes time in the bathroom each morning to stop, read the news, listen to music, or even play a quick game on her phone. Doing a little bit of nothing or a little bit of something fun by yourself is important to let your mind rel...

As a student, the last thing you’re probably thinking about on a daily basis is your future career – but maybe it’s time to give your future career a little room in your brain (not just a drawer in your dresser or even a closet, but a whole room). Because as you’re navigating your daily grind as a student, making decisions that will affect your grades and your quality of education, the one thing you should be thinking about (especially in tough times) is: why in the name of all that is holy am I doing this? Having an idea about what you want your future career to look like is just as good as a dream board when it comes to making goals. Knowing what you want and why you want it will give you extra motivation to do your best work in school and be as successful as you possibly can be. Some things you can daydream about during your free time (you know, while you’re in the shower or on the toilet): ·          Do you want to work indoors or o...

Grades are a big part of college life. You need a minimum GPA to stay enrolled in a college or university, to be able to transfer schools, to enroll in specialty programs (nursing, physical therapy school, graduate school, etc.), and you definitely need a minimum GPA to keep your parents happy if they’re helping foot the bill for college. So if there’s something you might consider not sabotaging, grades are a good place to start. Earning grades is a tough, long process, but sabotaging your grades is a quick and easy task from which recovery can be difficult if not impossible. Sabotaging your grades can show up in many forms. But let’s start by taking a look at your priorities. Making your education a priority in your life is critical to your success as a student, however I strongly suggest that education is not your top priority. Your health and well-being should come first over anything else and when you think about it it makes complete sense – you can’t do your best work in scho...

Think about all the relationships you have in your life: family, friends, professors, students, co-workers, bosses. You probably come into contact with a lot more people each week than you realize and, while you only have power over your own brain and your own actions, you can absolutely use your power to influence the relationships in your life. Most of us watch people and life pass us by as we sit on the sidelines and do our own thing, but how much more interesting is life when you become aware of how your actions affect how others view you and vice versa. Are there ways in which you are sabotaging yourself that you don’t even realize? Relationship sabotage happens for many reasons: laziness (mental laziness and physical laziness), lack of communication, fear of failure, fear of success, and so on. If you can pinpoint things in your life that prod you to sabotage relationships (fear, love) you are better able to manage your thoughts around them. And when you see a familiar bu...

Last week we talked about wrangling our chaotic brain who we often let run rampant through our lives like a spoiled, screaming toddler, and we’re going to revisit that a bit today. When we let our brains run the show without adult supervision (us being conscious of what it’s saying and controlling the narrative), we typically end up with a mangled sense of self: we imagine small problems or incidents to be life-changing encounters, we see ourselves as less-than, and/or we feel like we’re always on the losing team in life. This is no way to live – and this is a hard way to live! Letting your child-brain control your story is a miserable, chaotic life and letting it happen knowingly is definitely self-sabotage. Why would we do this – what sense does it make to believe these lies that only make you feel badly about yourself and your situation? Sometimes we just aren’t aware that our brain is telling stories, and in that case the only remedy is to start listening and pay attention ...

Next week, we’ll be talking about ways we sabotage ourselves: our relationships, our grades in school, our careers, and our well-being. Whether sabotage is your story or you see it more in others, come take a closer look with us and share your experiences. Kelley

In our final installment of Leveling Up, we’re going to focus on your biggest critic, your worst enemy, and the entity we can control but instead we usually let it run the show: your own brain. Your own mind is the voice you hear every waking second of your life, and yet most of us do little if anything to try to rein that beast in to work for us. Instead, we let it run wild and free to create whatever chaos and destruction it likes – or really, just anything it likes at all! This is similar to letting a toddler run amok in your house all day simply because it’s easier than trying to gain control. Sound like a mess? Let’s grab that screaming, tantrum-throwing toddler (your brain) by the scruff of the neck and take control. How do you do that – just take control of your brain? First, we need to start listening to our brain. What is it saying or telling us all day long? Is it sending positive messages, negative messages, or a lovely incongruous mix of both? You can find out by takin...

Has anyone (your parents perhaps?) ever told you that the world doesn’t revolve around you? What your parents are/were probably trying to convey is that you need to pitch in and help around the house (or just clean up your room). If a friend has ever said this to you, they may have been trying to point out that you only do things you want to do (never doing anything anyone else wants to do) or that you’re not spending enough quality time with them. Both your parents and your friends, in this case, have valid points. But let’s take a look at the bigger picture: the world (your world) literally does revolve around you. You are the captain of your own ship, the director of your own movie, and the star of your own show. The choices you make, the way you choose to spend your resources (time, energy, money), and your attitudes about life drive your story – and only your story. You are the only person you can control so you need to use that authority to make your world into the world ...