Living with a Roommate

For the majority of college freshman, this is the first year that they will spend living with a roommate. This means sharing about half as much space as you’re used to with a person that you have possibly never seen before. I found some tips about living with a roommate online, and I’m sure a few of them could help out. (click on the title of the post to see site).

-Communicate: agree on rules and talk about potential issues before they become a problem.

-Don’t beat around the bush and drop hints when there’s a problem – it’s better for both parties if you are straight up and honest about and issue you are having.

-Practice common courtesy when it comes to visitors – determine general rules for visitors right off the bat, especially for weeknights.

-Set a policy about borrowing each others’ things, and make sure you always ask before using something of your roommate’s. When you want to borrow something of theirs, think about whether or not you would care about sharing something similar.

-Be flexible – be willing to adjust to your roommate’s schedule and realize that he or she has the right to visitors and the right to ask for privacy. However, don’t be flexible at the expense of your own health or grades.

-Try not to get caught in the middle of your roommate’s issues. Personal issues with their friends, family, significant other, etc. are theirs. Don’t offer advice unless you are asked because chances are you don’t know the whole situation.

-Be considerate about your living space – even if you are used to being a slob, out of respect for your roommate, keep your stuff picked up. Keep in mind that you wouldn’t want someone else’s crap all over your living space if you were trying to work or have visitors.

Coming soon… my thoughts on these rules and a few tips of my own…

Facebook: the Down-Side

Although I really talked up Facebook in my last post, I don’t want to give the impression that it’s 100% wonderful. There are also some aspects of Facebook that aren’t so fabulous. The most prominent one is that it is addicting. I’m not talking mildly addicting for amusement, I’m talking hard core can’t draw yourself away from it. This probably goes mainly for girls, but looking at people’s pictures on Facebook and chatting with your friends can become very distracting. The art of “Facebook stalking” is also very prominent in college; searching for information about the latest gossip by checking out other peoples’ conversations, photos, etc. Sometimes I find myself on Facebook for over an hour before I even realize it, and this can be very detrimental to students with busy schedules.

Although the addictive nature of Facebook can be devastating, it is only a matter of self control to fix. There are other more serious issues that come with being a Facebook user. First of all, anyone can see everything that you post on your profile. This means contact information etc., so you always have to be careful about what information you disclose to avoid your information coming into the wrong person’s hands. Also, some employers have recently started checking Facebook as a part of their hire process. This means that any inappropriate photos or information could cost you a job or a scholarship. Even though Facebook offers very useful networking tools, it must be used smartly in order for it to not work against you.

Facebook: the Up-Side

In my opinion, Facebook is one of the greatest online creations of the past few years. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Facebook is an online network on which users can create a profile, make friends, write blog posts, hold events, join groups, etc. There are many perks in being a Facebook user in college, but there are also a few drawbacks. Hopefully this post will inform you of both sides of Facebook…

First of all, Facebook is a great way to network socially. You can join your college’s specific network, and join groups formed specifically for people at your college with things in common. These could range from classes, to dorms, to your graduating class. Since you will meet a ton of new people in college, Facebook is a great way to help keep names and faces straight. When you meet someone new, you can add them as your friend on Facebook and write messages to them, etc. You can also get invitations to parties and other functions through Facebook. Not only is Facebook a great way to keep track of new friends, it’s also a great way to keep in touch with old friends, or siblings that you no longer live with.

Along with being a great place for social networks, Facebook is also quickly becoming a place for academic networking. For example, it’s a great way to send out mass messages to group members about a project, or contact people who in your classes for help with homework. For example, I just joined a help group for one of my hardest classes. Students post questions and comments about the class, and other students can post their answers and opinions. Even some of the teaching assistants for the course have joined the group and have been giving us tips on assignments and answers to tough questions.

If you haven’t joined Facebook yet, it would be worth your time to check it out. Have a friend give you a little online tour. Coming next: the not so good aspects of Facebook.

Procrastination...

Oh procrastination. I don’t know about all of you, but I have a serious procrastination problem – and it has a close link to my last posting on stress. Procrastination tends to just add onto stress that you already have. It’s a quick fix – you can do something better right then, but it always comes back to bite you in the butt. Even though I’m a pretty good procrastinator, the one thing that saves me is having to-do lists. I find if I write down things that I have to do it helps me organize my time and not forgot things. Plus, it’s so rewarding to cross things off your list and actually feel like you got something done. However, for us serious procrastinators, to-do lists just might not cut it. I found a few interesting tips at AssociatedContent.com…

1. Anticipate future assignments.
2. Don’t put assignments off until the last minute. I find this one a bit obvious….
3. Do hard assignments first. I personally don’t really like this one – I like to get small ones done so I can cross them off my list and not have them hanging over my shoulder. Plus, it starts the process of being productive without the frustration of a difficult assignment.
4. Work on large assignments in chunks.
5. Use a planner.
6. Expect the unexpected.
7. Just get started.
8. Page numbers. I find that one of the easiest ways to avoid procrastination when it comes to reading a chapter is to avoid looking and counting the page numbers. If you are constantly looking at what page you are on and counting to see how many you have left, you’ll never get done.
9. Avoid distractions. This is really hard to do in college since wherever you go there are tons of people, but if you can find a secluded spot or time of day to work, you will be way more productive.
10. Reward yourself. I love this tip. Personally I use food or social activities to bribe myself. This way you work really hard to get something done and there ends up being a positive experience.

Stress

Stress is a very prominent issue among humans, especially college students. There’s pressure to do well academically, to get a good degree and good job, pressure from friends, from parents, and the overall load of work and study takes a toll on the average student. During the past few weeks it seems like everyone on my floor has been really stressed out about exams and projects, myself included, so I decided that maybe I could do some research on stress. I found some useful info on Amherst College’s health education web site, and I wanted to share what I found to help out my friends and my readers.

Some common signs of stress are:

• Problems eating or sleeping
• Increased use of alcohol or other drugs
• Increased boredom and fatigue; a general sense of "the blahs"
• Problems making decisions; increased procrastination
• Becoming anxious and confused over unimportant events
• Increased frustration with minor annoyances
• Frequent colds and infections

This website also offered different tips to handle stress. Some of these include short term fixes:

• Relax where you are.
• Take a break.
• Ask yourself whether it's worth being upset over the situation.
• List all the things you think you need to do right away. Then prioritize the list and only do the top few.

Long term ways to handle stress include:

• Seek your own stress level.
• Choose your own goals.
• Think positive.
• Make decisions.
• Keep realistic expectations.
• Accept what you cannot change.
• Anticipate potentially stressful situations and prepare for them.
• Manage your time.
• Take care of your health.
• Take time for yourself.

Personally, I have a few ways to handle stress that I feel really work well for me. I really like the short term tip to take a break. Chances are, when you’re feeling really stressed, it’s just mental. If you take a break for a little while and take your mind off things, chances are when you approach your problem again you will come back with a much more collected and calm manner. I will continue to test out these stress tips and let you know what works best for me…

Also, click on the stress title of this posting for a link to the Amherst College Health Education website.

But there are only 24 hours in a day...

As college students, it’s often really hard to balance schoolwork, social life, extracurriculars, and sports. Personally, I’m a very social person and my major is challenging, and every day I feel like it’s a struggle to find time for everything. One thing that has really helped me keep from stressing out is making a ‘to do’ list. As I accomplish tasks, I cross them off and it makes me feel like I’m actually getting somewhere with everything I have to do. Also, I’ve been planning my week by the hour and deciding when I’m going to do what. I try to get all of my schoolwork done during the week so that I can have the weekends to go out and be with my friends. I also ask myself, “How am I supposed to find time to work out among all of this schoolwork?” I’ve decided that even when I’m swamped, it’s mostly mental and I actually don’t have as much to do as I think. Instead of sitting in front of my computer and trying to figure out where to start, I’ll go on a 20 minute run. It’s not forever, but it’s better than nothing, and it usually helps me relax, gather my thoughts, and take my mind off of schoolwork for a few minutes. Lastly, I’m learning how to take advantage of those awkward one hour breaks between classes. Instead of walking back to my dorm just to switch books and watch TV for 20 minutes, I find a nice spot in the shade and read or study or knock out a few math problems. It’s efficient, and I’m amazed at how much I can actually get done in an hour when I’m not distracted.

Why are my white socks pink and blue...?!

As an incoming college student, one adjustment that many kids have to make is that of doing his or her own laundry. Although many kids do their own in high school, many, myself included, had the luxury of throwing dirty clothes in a laundry basket and having them reappear every Thursday, clean and folded. Unfortunately, the laundry fairy cannot accompany you to college. I have learned a few lessons about laundry that I think would be worth sharing to the incoming college student, or the student who has yet to do laundry and is now wearing very smelly clothes.

First of all, I would strongly advise learning to do laundry BEFORE coming to college, rather than thinking that it will be easy to figure out all alone. Personally, I did my own laundry the majority of the summer before college. This made me pretty comfortable with it, but it still wasn’t second nature. I would suggest maybe 4 months of consistent laundry doing before college; this will make it second nature and your entire wardrobe will be very familiar to you. This will make laundry sorting at college a much quicker process.

Another point to remember is that the washers and dryers in college are most likely not the same as the one’s at home, so be sure to check out the features before you use them. In Owen Hall at Purdue, for instance, our washers don’t have a place for fabric softener; instead you have to buy fabric softener sheets to put in the dryer. Also, don’t forget to remove all lint from the lint trap – it’s easy to forget, but if you do, all of your clothes will be covered in little fuzzies!
One of the hardest things about doing laundry in college is planning your time accordingly. Realize that once you start, you won’t be able to leave your dorm until you’ve finished – generally a little short of two hours. You don’t want to leave clothes sitting in the washer because colors could bleed or leave them sitting in the dryer because they will wrinkle. And although everyone hates to admit it, leaving clothes sitting in the laundry room increases the risk of something getting stolen. Last, but not least, pick a good time of the week to do laundry. The weekends are always the most busy since everyone has big chunks of time open without any classes to go to. Pick a time during a weekday when you have time between classes so that the room will be less busy. Don’t wait until the last minute to do laundry either since there is no guarantee to get a machine…

Bring on the Sniffles!

It’s very normal for people to develop colds in the winter and late fall, right? It seems like everyone gets a little case of the sniffles, some cases worse than others. However, just in the past week I have noticed that the number of colds and the severity of each case is MUCH higher in college than I ever remember it being in high school. I would like to dedicate this blog to documenting how to survive cold season in college, particularly when living in a dorm.
First of all, there are many factors that contribute to the increased number of colds in college. Number one is probably lack of sleep. Increased homework loads and social activities take up more time than ever before and guess what – there are still only 24 hours in a day. Living in the dorms, there are many more items that are shared with many more people than one is usually accustomed to in high school. Shared objects in the dorm such as doorknobs, remotes, etc. are perfect places for germs along with even more trafficked areas such as floor bathrooms, study tables and computer labs.
Even though the germs are out to get you, there are many things you can do to keep those dirty suckers away. First and foremost is making sure you get enough sleep. This along with a healthy diet, regular exercise, and a daily vitamin will help keep your immune system in tip-top shape. Also, washing your hands and using antibacterial hand lotion as often as possible will help reduce the amount of germs that make it to you. (A note about antibacterial lotion: Purdue kindly provides a dispenser at the entrance to the major dining halls to help you stay healthy – use it!) Also, get antibacterial wipes to wipe down work areas and shared areas around your living space – it’s cheap, easy, and it really helps. Hopefully I’ll be able to take my own advice and stay healthy in spite of the 12 snotty coughers in my hall whose germs are on a rampage!

High School vs. College

Even though I’ve only been at Purdue for a month, I’ve picked up on some big differences between high school and college. If I were back in high school, I would have loved to have a serious heads up about a few of these. Let’s start with the differences that make college the “best time of your life.” First of all, for those social butterflies out there, the best thing of all is being constantly surrounded by friends. There is never a dull moment in the hall of a dorm, especially on the girls’ side. However, this could go both ways; those of us who are used to our own room and bathroom or doing homework alone in a very calm environment, say goodbye to efficiency and hello to about a million distractions. Fun? Yes, but also very frustrating at times. Another great perk of college for the more social student is definitely the constant availability of social events; parties, functions, clubs, etc. And also the nonexistent curfew. Nothing is better than going from home by 12:30 or grounded to being able to do as you please until all hours of the night. However, all of this freedom leads to a few more serious differences between high school and college…

With freedom comes responsibility, and this can be a difficult issue to tackle for an 18 year old who just wants to have fun. Personally, I am a very social person and I love going out and being with my friends. However, I also chose engineering as my major, and it’s kicking my butt. The amount of homework is incredible, and the amount of material I’m expected to learn on my own time is, in my opinion, not possible. Let’s face it - high school was basically a joke. I hardly ever studied for a test and I got good grades by doing just enough, and I’m starting to realize that that just won’t cut it in college. For the first month of college I have been trying to get all of my schoolwork done during the week so that I can have the entire weekend to do whatever I want. I would highly recommend this method – the girls living on my floor generally do the same and so far it has worked out pretty well (although we have yet to take an exam so my opinion may change after next week). Luckily I was a pretty responsible kid to start off with, but I think a lot of high school kids should really try to talk to college student to really get a feel for what they are in for.