15B; YOU CAN DO IT

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal.
It is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill

When I think about finals I get really anxious, as do most freshmen I can imagine. The first thing I plan to do is take a few deep breaths. From these, I will be able to organize my study material and myself in a calm, cool, and collective manner.

                Throughout the semester, I feel as though I have developed stronger study habits and have been succeeding on my tests because of these. The study skill that works best for me is either having flash cards, or reading my notes out loud. This way I can hear it, say it, and visualize the study material. Also, I like to teach others when they are unsure to know for myself that I am comfortable with the material. To prepare for my finals, I have already gathered all of the study guides from the teacher or blackboard and got a feel for what I am responsible to know on the final exam. For two of my classes, the finals are project based so I have already gotten a really good head start and finished one big paper, one weight lifted off of my shoulders! Through the end of this week and especially this weekend, I will work diligently to organize the study guides in ways that make sense to me, and make flash cards for terms or ideas that I need a refresher on. After this, I will take a few days to just shut off my phone and all distractions and dedicate myself to studying because I would obviously like to finish out the semester with strong exam scores.

                In wrapping up this semester, I will ensure my success by telling myself I can do it. Most of the time when it comes to big tests or projects, I sell myself short and lack confidence. I need to remember how hard I worked all semester to apply myself to my learning and know that I can get through all this stress because it will absolutely be worth it in the end. I know it is cliché, but I just cannot imagine that I am one week away from finishing my first semester in college.

How will you ensure your semester is finished out strong? What are ways you will eliminate the stresses that come with finals?

14I; Unnoticed Beauty

#21- On Tuesday, as I was relaxed walking to class minding my pints and quarts, the statue located in Engleman to the right of the stairwell definitely caught my eye for the first time. Usually when I am walking to class I have tunnel vision and focus on where I need to go, but since there weren’t as many students cluttered around the staircase, I stopped to see this work of art.  

It is a sculpture of Finis E. Engleman and the plaque just below the structure reads as follows: “Finis E. Engleman, First President, New Haven State Teachers College, 1937-1943, Gift Of The Class Of 1938, Sculptor - Tony Bonadies, Dedicated, May 1998” The portion that stood out to me was the fact that Southern used to be called New Haven State Teachers College and was later turned into a university with multiple disciplines. Engleman was the third principle of this normal school and one of his goals was to try to bring males into it instead of having just 350 females attend. I am thankful to have the opportunity to attend a university like this one and am starting to realize the benefits of going to Southern. 

14V; Self-Investment

“The investments we make in ourselves will always deliver the most profitable returns.” 

― Sumner Davenport

When I first thought of the word investment, I thought in terms of money and essentially investing it. Obviously, college is not cheap and can be seen as an education investment. But going through various classes this semester, this word has many other meanings and is a very important word while going through the college experience.

                Between balancing school work, family, friends, and actually being a human, college involves investing your entire mind and body. It is crucial that your whole self provides a way to indulge in the learning going on and also the responsibilities which are needed to fill. Along with this, we as students are investing a lot of time and energy into our education in hopes that it will greater our chances of reaching the American dream and being successful. Investing comes with risk, loss, and profit and these all can be used to learn important lessons about ourselves and the world around us. We should learn right from the start that investing ourselves in college and all that it has to offer can only better us in the end and tremendous learning will absolutely follow.

                Two new words I learned this week include, gelt, which is a noun and a slang term for money and also, hapless, an adjective meaning, “having no luck; unfortunate.” By investing myself into college, hopefully I will not end up a hapless person with little gelt.

How can you make sure your 'self' is improved?

14A; A Breather for Turkey Day!

That day we have all been waiting for since September is finally here! No, not Christmas, Thanksgiving break. Tomorrow will be my last day at Southern before the five day break and I could not be more excited! Although I will miss all of my friends here, I cannot wait to see all my friends from back home and my family. It will be nice to reunite with all of the kids from South Windsor who have gone their separate ways and also my younger friends still in high school. Especially with the semester coming to a close, I am going to take full advantage of this break and hopefully get de-stressed.

                On Wednesday, I plan on treating my mom and myself to a manicure and pedicure because these have always been so relaxing and your nails should look nice for the holiday! Also on this day, I will join my friend Stephanie to visit our teacher in middle school. Mr. Savage was one of the friendliest and personable teacher I’ve ever had, and we developed a unique relationship with him. He was always there to talk and we helped him during any free periods we had just because we had so much fun in his presence. He was recently diagnosed with Stage Four Esophageal and Liver Cancer so we would like to take this opportunity to go visit him as he still teaches at the middle school, such a strong individual. Then we arrive at Turkey Day! Thursday morning, I will be attending the high school football game against our rivals, Rockville. It is a tradition and almost the whole town comes out to support so it will surely be fun! After this, I will go to my aunt’s house and eat until I drop. The worst time to hop on the scale is during the holidays let me tell you! Friday’s escapades include Black Friday shopping with my dad, we are always the crazy people waiting in those long lines outside. We just have so much fun and believe it or not, is such a great bonding experience!

                To get ready for finals, I will definitely be organizing my work from the semester and reading over my notes to start wrapping up this semester. I have a whole lot more work than I thought I would so hopefully it won’t interrupt too much of my break. I know I need to complete it but I also feel as though I’ve been working so hard for the past thirteen or so weeks and as the article says, “A new and growing body of multidisciplinary research shows that strategic renewal — including daytime workouts, short afternoon naps, longer sleep hours, more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations — boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health.” Have a lovely Thanksgiving everyone! ♥

14B; I am Thankful for...

     Giving thanks is one of my favorite things to do as it is often times linked with happy feelings and feeling lucky or appreciative. I can say that during this semester here at Southern, I have countless things to be thankful for and I am glad we have the opportunity to reflect in that I do think it is important also.

                First and foremost, coming from a close knit family, I knew from the start of this journey that I would have the most trouble being away and not getting to do every family-oriented thing with them. Although it was an adjustment, I am so very thankful to have my family right by my side, even if it is not physically. They have shown tremendous support throughout this semester by checking up on me, sending surprise care packages, and still making me feel as I am still included.  With this, I am grateful to be far enough away from home, but close enough to be able to go home and see them every once and a while. I cannot wait to see them and share the holiday with them. That, and the healthiness of them all, is more than I could ever ask for.

                Also this semester, I have come to the realization that an education is not guaranteed for everyone and that I am so fortunate to be able to attend college and have such a positive experience which will help me throughout my life. I take my studies and learning very seriously and I am thankful to have professors, staff, and peers supporting me along this college journey. I learn so many new things each day, even about myself, that I couldn’t have anywhere else and I am also grateful for that. An example of this would be that I have noticed my reading abilities have gotten a lot stronger since I have been completing a variety of reading assignments in each class. This was one of the things at the beginning of the semester that I specifically pointed out I wanted to work on. So, between completing little goals I set for myself, and growing my knowledge, I am thankful and lucky to be attending a school where I belong. Furthermore, here at school, I have met so many new people. I would describe Southern as a completely new environment with a diverse population and a lot to offer. But somehow, I can fit in here and have met some of the greatest friends and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

                Looking at everything I just mentioned, I really do not have much to complain about and could say how lucky I really am. I appreciate every day I am given along with the good health. I am grateful for the roof over my head and food and clean water available for me. I am thankful for the overpowering love I receive each day from my family, boyfriend, and friends. I hope everyone enjoys their holiday break and takes a step back to realize how gratified they actually are. 

Lastly, I want to give a special thanks to all the soldiers in the armed forces for continuously protecting us and fighting for our freedom each day, and especially Christian, Jesse, Shane, Tommy, Brandon, and James. We love you and are so proud of you, stay safe.
How can we give thanks everyday, not just on the holiday?

13V; Seeking Meaning

                He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” 

― Friedrich Nietzsche

     The purpose of a Liberal Arts education is to become exposed to different disciplines and further be specialized in a certain area. It enhances basic communication skills such as writing, speaking, and problem solving. I will go through my college career completing each course with purpose to better my chances of being successful and ready for whatever life will throw at me. We are all put on this earth for a purpose and will someway fulfill this purpose throughout our lifetime. It can also motivate one to be driven, accomplish, and keep on keeping on through whatever they may be doing.

                The word purpose can be used many different ways and can be defined in the dictionary as a noun, “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists,” or as a verb, “have as one's intention or objective.” It is a powerful word because often times we are seeking the meaning or purpose to our lives and especially in college, we begin to question what we really would like out of life.

                Two new words this week include, forfend, which is a verb meaning, “protect, preserve,” and also, lade, a verb meaning, “to load or be loaded (as with cargo) or to put or place as a load especially for shipment.”

13B; Video Creativity

“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” 

― Roger Crawford

Referring back to articles of the past, creativity can be defined as a different way of thinking, and may include, but is not limited to the arts. It can also be looked a as formind new ideas, and in this project, new ideas or ways to get involved at Southern. Applying this into a video project is an opportunity to show uniqueness and also stand out from the rest. But how on earth can I accomplish this?

                College students are always being told to get involved on campus and to build their resume, so my topic will be able to show how exactly to get involved and also the many different options they have to get involved. To incorporate creativity, I will include a skit which will put viewers in multiple situations that they can relate to and solutions to these. I also plan to include fun and upbeat music so that getting involved seems like fun instead of looked at as a chore. The music will also keep viewers interested and eager to keep watching to see what comes next. Furthermore, I could add humor into the skit, even though this may be difficult because I am horrible at making jokes, but I am always up for a challenge! Next, to stand out from the rest of the videos, I plan to play around with and try to learn the basics of a program called Go Animate! which makes cartoon videos and I can add them into my video project. Furthermore, I will provide creative solutions to solve the problems and explain how different situations might benefit different genders, different schedules, and different people, and back them up with support and evidence to make them more believable.

                As mentioned in the blog, a measure of success is how well students adapt to new situations, tackle challenges, and being creative problem solvers. Making videos is certainly a new situation to me, definitely looked at as a challenge and hopefully by this standard I will not fall short, and come out on top with a successful video project.

What are ways you will incorperate creativity into your video? Is creativity important in video making?