the BIGGER picture
11/28/2012
JUST AROUND THE RIVER BEND!
A…a..a..l.m…o..s…t….t…h..e..r…e….
The end of semester is literally, as Pocahontas would say, JUST AROUND THE RIVER BEND! Like most of you, my motivation tank has been running quite low and I feel like the little tug boat that couldn't just-a-sputterin’ towards that river bend. BUT, I have recently just stopped for gas and am ready to finish this term out with John Smith-like brawn! ← Another good Poca reference, eh?
I am here to hopefully put some things in perspective for you. I know you all aren't cool like me and my fellow biology majors, learning the fundamentals of all things living on Earth, BUT I’m positive you are learning SOMETHING. Now you think it’s no big deal that you can give a speech in public without getting sweat rings and stuttering or that you can finally hybridize atomic orbitals or that you can now form an entire, intelligible sentence in Spanish or French...OR BOTH if you are an annoying overachiever. These accomplishments seem little now but they are the small steps that will lead you to the ultimate goal: a well-rounded education and subsequent diploma! WOO! A hard concept to grasp when you’re up studying until 4am for finals that magically end up being on the EXACT. SAME. DAY. (The Ministry of Magic is behind this sorcery, I know it.)
At risk of being redundant and always talking about my English experience (which excuse me, it was, IS and will ALWAYS be a very HUGE part of my life), going to university in England really did teach me the value of knowledge. In America, college focuses solely on grades and quizzes and tests with teachers constantly assigning homework and percents while England is much more about the overall acquirement of knowledge and your interpretation of the material you are presented. You have no homework or biweekly minitests, but rather, weekly seminars to discuss the curriculum and maybe two essays per term to gather your thoughts on the material. It was refreshing and nerve-racking all-in-one because, as an American, my GRADE was based solely on TWO essays?! Crazy talk, right? No. I was able to learn at a different pace without a professor hovering over me with a tree-and-a-half of worksheets/tests. They say (whoever ‘they’ are), that students who study abroad return a better student and statistically get better grades than before they left, and I do believe I am a better student who can now look at the bigger picture, but now I’m not really going crazy trying to get THE perfect grade in the class. I’m more concerned now with actually knowing what I’m talking about since that 'A' on a test isn't really going to help me when I have a patient flat-lining on an operating table. I’m instead going to need to know what could be happening in their body to know how to fix it and get that heart-a-sputterin’ again. In saying that, because we are currently in America, sadly, grades are important, so let’s not forget that. I’m just trying to fill your motivation tank, babay! LEARN. STUDY. LEARN. KNOW YOUR STUFF.
Thus, before you completely throw in the towel this semester, think about all that you know now compared with when you started in August. You’re successfully surviving college and you should try your best to finish out strong and get those stupid GRADES you deserve!... because you never know when you’ll need to give a speech on atomic orbital hybridization in fluent Spanish AND French. Till next time-
Kels
