My New Year’s Resolutions as a Student

As the new year begins, I (like others) have many resolutions for the upcoming year, so I wanted to dedicate this post to sharing some of mine. Engaging in lectures: Last year, I realized that I wasn’t actually learning in lectures, but rather, I was just present. This year, I want to be more engaged during lectures. Although this is difficult to do in large classes, part of this means to absorb the material the professor is teaching, and actually understanding it. To do this, I’m going to complete the required readings before the lecture takes place, so that I can have some background knowledge on the topic. I’m also going to write down some questions that I may have while reading so that I can ask the professor after the lecture, if I’m still confused.

Getting more involved on campus: As a commuter, I found myself immediately going home as soon as my classes were finished for the day. There were many reasons for this: I was tired so I wanted to get home as soon as possible, I didn’t have anywhere to stay except the library (which at times, is not the most motivating place), and I didn’t want to wait for the next train. This year, I’m hoping that I will participate in more events here at the university. There were many events last year that I missed out on because I wasn’t on campus, but this year, I’m going to try my best to be more involved on campus.

Stop comparing myself to others: In class, my friends and I would always ask each other questions regarding our academic progress: “have you read this chapter yet?” “how did you do on the last midterm?” “did you get this answer to the first question on the last page?” I realized that asking these questions did absolutely no good for me. Discovering that 3 out of my 4 friends chose “a” as an answer on the midterm does not change the fact that I had already chosen ‘b’. There is really no point because I can’t change the past- what’s done is done. Another challenge for me is accepting that everyone works at a different pace. Instead of worrying about the fact that my friend is two chapters ahead of me, I need to focus on myself and where I am at, which is something I struggle with, but am trying to improve on (I find Olive's post really helpful!).   In sharing my resolutions, I’m hoping it will keep me accountable and motivate me to complete them. For those who have new year’s resolutions as well, I hope we can all complete them and make this a great year! 🙂