All that hard stuff...

Well, once again I find myself up to my nose with midterms and homework.  Of course, what is NEW with my life??

Luckily, I am finding a pretty good balance for doing work, studying, and my extracurriculars.  I sometimes wonder if I take on too much, but I know that through all the stress it will be worth it in the end when I have everything done and feel very accomplished.  So far, so good.

But, if you go to college and don't know how to balance your time, you will meet serious issues!  I am a firm believer in working ahead (I know, I know...I'm NUTS because I don't wait until the last minute to cram) but BELIEVE ME: it's worth it!

I am the kind of person that schedules my day very carefully.  If I have a lot to get done in one night (like tonight), I will go so far as to plan my day hour by hour just to be sure that I can fit it all in.  Plus, of course, I need a little time for myself or I would probably be clinically insane right now.

Here is the key to handling the workload of college: TIME MANAGEMENT.  You don't need to by a psycho like me and plan your life by the hour, but it is probably a good idea to invest in a good planner.  Know when things are due, when your tests are, when meetings are scheduled, etc.  If you write it all down in front of you, you can then plan on when to do your work so that it doesn't get backed up on you!  Pulling an all-nighter because you forgot about a ten page paper due the next day is not exactly the best way to excel in college!

This is a skill that comes with time and patience.  College is a way of life.  You have to find the good balance between schoolwork, extracurriculars, and going out and having fun with your friends.  If you can do this, I PROMISE you that you will have the BEST possible experience with college!

So, here's to handling our stress in healthy ways!  And now I return to my ridiculously planned even full of studying, ambassador events, and a meeting! =]

Short, Sweet, and to the Point...

It is finally getting warm out!  Needless to say, moods have lifted and life is just good!  That's pretty much enough said about life at Mercyhurst right now!

Hoping it lasts!  Now back to studying for midterms...

Busy Little Bee

So I haven't posted in a week because I have been running around like a mad woman!

Last weekend I had FOUR games to cheer at!  On Saturday my parents came to the games and then took me out to dinner.  Even though I had only been back form break for a week, it was NICE to see them and get some food off campus!  And after my games, I had to study study study because this week was midterm week!  (NEVER fun!)

Luckily, my first midterm was today and I think I did really well.  It was for History of the American West.  I love the class and the professor but he gives VERY hard tests!  The study guide he gave us was three pages chocked full of facts, people, places, events...and of course we had to know everything we could fit in our brains!  But, in the end my week of studying paid off because I feel really good about it!  When you get to college, don't blow off studying, even though it is VERY tempting!  It really does help!

Besides the dread of midterms, this week has been a VERY good one.  On Tuesday night my best friend from home came to visit me because her school is still on winter break.  It was SO nice and SO fun to see and hang out with her, especially since I didn't see her much over Christmas Break because she went on vacation with her family.  And to make it even better, my boyfriend is coming to visit tomorrrow night for the entire three day weekend!  I can't wait!

Well, hopefully this weekend is as much fun as I hope it will be!  Until next time...

Study, Study, Study: Midterms have arrived!

Sooo, as we go through a long period of endless raining, we are also going through the wonderful time that is midterms.  Everyone on campus is studying to take what are usually the first tests of the year and it is certainly a very tense time.  However, even though I seem to be doing more school work lately than fun, midterms also means that this term is already halfway over! 

This wonderfullllllll thought is due to the awesome Mercyhurst trimester system.  A lot of people outside of Mercyworld hear the word "trimester" and think, "What on Earth is that??"  It is very rare nowadays, especially with most schools moving into a semester system.  But, let me tell you, trimesters are the way to go!  They are a lot like quarters in that we have three 10-week terms every year.  Each term we take 3-4 classes. 

This is really nice because it means at any certain time you only have 3-4 classes worth of homework.  At semester schools, you could have to do 8 classes worth of homework at once!  That's a lottttt of reading and papers!  It's also really convenient because if there happens to be a class that you hate (there is no doubt you will have a few of those), that class will be over really soon.  I love the fast pace and the fact that we constantly change scenery throughout the year.  You get to meet three sets of friends in class every year, plus we get really looooong breaks between terms that other schools don't get!

So basically, even though midterms are stressinggggg me out right now, the trimester system is totally worth the stress at the end of the day!  Just another one of the many reasons that Mercyhurst is such an awesome school to choose!