1. General Education courses can connect to all your previous and future knowledge....or you can use these classes to completely waste your time
For my Public Speaking class I needed to give a persuasive speech on a controversial topic and for this topic I decided to speak on why college students should appreciate General Education Courses. I figured that I had picked a pretty controversial topic but I didn't realize that I had launched a small scale war! At the end of my speech I found myself embroiled in a long discussion with one of my classmates who thought that Gen Ed classes were a complete waste of his time. No matter what I said, he would argue against it, firmly believing that General Education Courses were part of a diabolical plot to rob college students of a year of their lives. I have been amazed by how much I taken away from these classes! "Human Biology" helped me to better understand Walt Whitman, "Intro to Journalism and Mass Media" taught me about how connected the various types of Media are, and my Ethics class showed me how to make a persuasive argument. It seems with Gen Eds (Or any other classes for that matter), you get what you put in. You can always take something beneficial away
2. Sometimes it is fun to try things that you can't imagine yourself trying
This spring semester I accepted the Heisman Award...well not really but I did give the acceptance speech for it. My group chose this topic without me and at first I was less than enthusiastic about it (Especially since I'm not exactly a football player) but as I prepare for this speech I had so much fun thinking about what it would be like if I were a football player. What position would I play? Who would I thank for my successes? What would my coach's name be? Sometimes it is fun to try things. So read that book that sounds weird, watch that independent film, try on that bizarre outfit. You may find something that you didn't know you liked.
3. Try to be as encouraging as possible when looking at the work of others but still be honest
Over the course of the spring, I took a research writing class where I studied the friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, especially as it connected to a disagreement between these two authors. When C.S. Lewis was in the early stages of writing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he showed it to Tolkien who completely dismissed it and didn't think that it would ever become a good work of literature. While I was researching why Tolkien reacted so strongly I found that many people had simply labeled Tolkien as an overly critical "jerk" because he wasn't a fan of some of Lewis' other works either (Like The Screwtape Letters and Letters to Malcolm). Some people said that it would have been remarkable for Tolkien to like anything that Lewis had written. But, as I dug a little deeper, I found that Tolkien really encouraged Lewis when it came to Out of the Silent Planet, another book that Lewis had written - He even helped find a publisher when Lewis' publisher refused his manuscript! Tolkien was supportive of his friend but because we have more instances of Tolkien disapproving of Lewis' work, these critics and researchers automatically assumed that Tolkien was constantly critical to Lewis. Imagine someone studying your life and relationships 50 years from now, do you want them to come to the conclusion that you are an unreasonably critical person like Simon from American Idol? So how do you combine encouragement with honesty? What should you do if your friend asks for your opinion on something and you're pretty sure that it's terrible? One solution that works pretty well is the "Criticism Sandwich". Start by saying what they did well on (Top piece of bread), tell them what they can improve on (The filling) and then finish by telling them what you think they were most successful at. This can encourage someone and give them something to improve on.
4. Focus on what you have in common with people rather than being divided over differences Tolkien and Lewis' friendship died down during the later years of C.S. Lewis' life. This was not because of the whole Narnia thing (Although that didn't exactly help) but instead because they began focusing on their differences rather than their commonalities. Tolkien and Lewis had a lot in common. They were both Christians, they were both authors, they both taught English at Oxford University and they were good friends but there was one large difference between them: Tolkien was a devout Catholic while Lewis, after converting to Christianity, became strongly Protestant. For a while, this denominational difference didn't have any impact in their friendship at all, but later, these men allowed their differences to disrupt their friendship. In Letters to Malcolm, one of his later books, C.S. Lewis wrote that memorized prayers and prayers to the saints were childish, something that Tolkien probably would have found quite hurtful. After this came several years where they would barely talk to each other and although Tolkien was extremely upset by Lewis' death, their friendship was never the same. In your relationships with others, be they: friends, professors, family members, or even acquaintances, try to focus on what you have in common and when comes to their differences, consider what you can learn from these differences. It would be quite sad if friendships ended over whether or not you like the same T.V. shows or share the same political beliefs.
5. There is always room to improve on something
We all have different talents and many of us are really good at doing certain things, but no matter how good you are at something, there is always something you can work on to become even better. At first it may seem discouraging that you will never be the absolute best at something but in some ways it is also encouraging. There is always something to do, something to work on and in many cases you can find a mentor, trainer, or coach who is willing to help you soar to new levels of achievement in your work.
6. Be Patient with people, there may also be people who are being equally patient with you
This year was also my first time encountering someone that I genuinely had trouble getting along with. For a while I found myself getting irritated by everything this person said and did but because they didn't realize how much they were upsetting me, it was bothering me more than it ever could bother them. I eventually decided that I would be patient with this person and refuse to allow the things they said or did to bother me. It's a good idea to be patient with people, it is entirely possible that I am unknowingly irritating someone who is being equally patient with me.
7. Worship is the best thing to do when you are feeling upset
Last fall, I started playing guitar and while I am not exactly an expert, the songs I play on my guitar do sound like the songs they are attempting to replicate. Sometimes I get discouraged, stressed out, or irritated and it is amazing how much it helps to sing worship to God when things get like that. Worship puts my mind in an attitude of thankfulness and reminds me that no matter how bad things might be, God is still here and God cares and that makes my day a lot brighter.
8. Give all your energy to every task and don't worry about the results
We live in a society where it is very easy to become obsessed with results. In pursuit of the American Dream, we judge our success by the numbers that appear on our paystub or our GPA. This obsession with results creates people who pursue a college degree for the paper diploma that they will get at the end of it, with any luck this will give them a good job which can get them...something else. Aristotle said that there are two reasons to want to do something: Because it will lead to something else they enjoy (As a means to achieving an end) or because they enjoy it in and of itself (As an end in itself). Aristotle later adds that enjoying something as an "End in itself" is far better than liking something because it can lead to something else. The problem with liking something only for the results is that you aren't happy until you achieve this result and if you have chosen a goal that is really distant than you will have to wait a REALLY long time. What I learned this year during my fall semester is not to be so caught up in results. I really enjoyed getting an "A" on my papers (I'm guessing that many other people like this as well), I also enjoyed getting invited to join Honor Societies and then joining them. But I have found that I feel most proud not when I am standing on a stage receiving an award or getting back a paper with a good grade on it (Although I feel proud at these points too), I have found that I am the most pleased with myself when I am handing in a paper that I have invested my full energy in writing, when I know that I have given my all and now my best effort is out there in the world, about to be read by someone else. Only you can know for sure if you are giving all your energy, other people can judge the results but only you can know if what you have given represents the best work that you can offer in the time you have been given. To borrow a quote from Herman Meville: "it is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great. Failure is the true test of greatness. And if it be said, that continual success is a proof that a man wisely knows his powers,--it is only to be added, that, in that case, he knows them to be small.". So, instead of worrying about the results, enjoy what you are learning, focus on being original and when it comes to tests, papers and stuff like that, just give it all you've got and let the results be what they may!
9. People will have different ways of looking at literature, by listening to them you can find insights you may not have thought of before
This one is slightly more literary focused but it really was fun taking literature classes this semester (This is one of the reasons why I switched from Secondary Education to Literature), my professors and all the students in my classes had very different ways of looking at the material that we were reading. These people all had different experiences and read different materials then I had and as a result, they brought up connections that wouldn't have immediately come to mind for me. I also found that participating in the discussions that we had helped me to figure out and solidify my own interpretation of the stories that I had read. Always be willing to listen to people- even if they say some things that you don't agree with because you can always find something valuable in what they are saying. For example, Friedrich Nietzsche and I disagree about a lot. Nietzsche is most famous for saying "God is dead" which is basically his way of saying that our society has evolved to the point where we can cast off our "outdated" beliefs and become independent people, a philosophy that conflicts in almost every way with my belief that God is living, active and fundamental to my life. But even in the midst of complete philosophical disagreement, Nietzsche has some wisdom that I find valuable. Nietzsche warns against getting caught up in the mob and losing yourself in the attempt to fit in, he and I would define this "mob" differently (He considers the mob to be made up of Christianity and other religions) but I agree with his underlying premise. So don't tune people out just because you disagree with them a little (Or a lot), listen to what they have to say and you may learn something new.
10. Don't Compare Yourself to People
It is way too easy to compare yourself to people these days! People post statuses on Facebook or announce their grades in class and suddenly I find that I am comparing myself to them. This creates two very unhealthy attitudes, either you come to the conclusion that you are better than everyone else and become prideful or you come to think that everyone else has a life that is easier or better than yours and this can get discouraging. Don't do it! In the end, you can't objectively compare yourself to people anyway, you don't know what they have been through, what challenges they are facing or what they excel at and this creates an extremely warped comparison. If people compared their catching ability to me they could come to the conclusion that they should be a major league baseball player (Considering the fact that I usually close my eyes and flail my arms when people throw things at me) but if they compared themselves to someone who IS a major league baseball player than they would probably feel less confident in their catching ability. I found that instead of comparing myself to other people when I don't know their story, it is much better to compare myself to the person that I was last year, or yesterday for that matter. When I do this, I can truly tell if I have improved in my abilities, knowledge and growth.
11. Pursue What You are Passionate about
This year has really showed me the importance of pursuing your passions. If you are only doing a job because it gives a good paycheck it will be hard to continue when things get really challenging and you find yourself in a tough position. This semester I "altered" my major, I can't really say that I've changed my major because it's still English but I am now studying Literature instead of Secondary Education. I mentioned that I switched because of the literature classes that I have taken and this is true, because of these classes (Specifically because of my American Literature class), I discovered that I really am passionate about literature. Although I would have had a couple of literature classes if I remained in Secondary Education, I found that I had become so passionate about studying literature that a few classes wouldn't have been enough. I also realized this year that my dream is to be a Literature Professor. I know that this is an ambitious dream and I know that I will need to be in school for a long time in order to make this a reality (I like school so that really isn't a big problem for me) I also know that I will face many tests, challenges and changes in order to reach this goal but I am ready to face all of these challenges but I am pursuing something that I am passionate about. It may be a hard road but it is better to fail at reaching something that you are passionate about than to succeed at reaching something you aren't.
12. Don't become obsessed with pleasing people
I am going to admit that I love pleasing people. I love to know that people are proud of me, that they approve of the work that I have done but becoming too obsessed with pleasing people can become a dangerous trap and, in some ways, it can even become an idol. You find yourself constantly looking over your shoulder, wondering what the people around you are thinking when they probably aren't obsessing over your actions at all. Galatians 6:3-4 reminds us that: "If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,". This year I learned that the best way to live is to focus on doing your best rather than reading into that actions and comments of others or trying to change yourself. Pursue personal excellence and be courteous to the people around you and your won't have to worry about what people think because people will probably think that you are pretty great.
13. Make as many connections as possible to previous knowledge and other classes I have found that one of the best ways to learn is to connect what you are learning to the knowledge that you have already gained. In this way, your learning can be a lot like a spider web, where every strand is connected in order to make a beautiful whole. I remember taking a Psychology quiz in my class once that I wasn't entirely prepared for, but I was able to answer several of the questions on there because I was also taking a Philosophy class and the quiz was asking questions about Aristotle. In my literature classes I have found it extremely helpful to connect the stories and poems that I am reading to other stories, philosophical concepts, historical events and even Simpsons references. In my Biology class I learned that "Inspiration" means "breathing inward", this was a definition that I wasn't as familiar with, I was used to the definition that says inspiration is: "Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity" but I found that learning this alternate definition gave me a newfound understanding of a line from Walt Whitman's Poem, "Song of Myself" where he says: "My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs," because I have connected this line with the biological definition of inspiration, I don't think that I will easily forget either Whitman's line or the definition. It really is fun to connect the concepts that you are learning and while it may happen unconsciously to a certain extent, the deliberate connection of concepts is much better.
I really learned a lot this past year and I am excited to a new year ahead of me to learn even more and try new things! Happy 2014!
No comments:
Post a Comment