Let's get this party (re)started!

Hey guys,

It has been a while! The end of the semester hit me hard, in the face, with extreme force. I barely had time to sleep; I apologize though. I hope no one was too distraught by my absence.

As you could have guessed, it's a new semester. To the high school seniors reading this: take a deep breath because you are in for a wild ride! (Though maybe not if you're getting as much snow as we are. Snow Days are definitely rampant this winter!)

For this blog, I figured I would share with you a bit of advice, that is embedded in my new year/new semester resolution: READ! I'm sure you all know as well as I do, that in high school "required readings" in classes other than perhaps English aren't that big of a deal. You can usually skim stuff, look at the chapter overview, or get away with not reading it at all. It has taken me three semesters to learn this but: THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN COLLEGE!

Part of the reason I became so behind last semester, and was thus so stressed at the end of the semester, was because I hadn't kept up with my required readings. While I didn't necessarily feel behind during the middle of the semester, I was given study guides for finals and all of the sudden I realized how much material I had missed because of my choice to not complete the assigned readings.

Another tip that I picked up since we last met (and I use the term 'met' loosely, of course) is the power of group studying. One of the reasons reading/studying writing is so hard to get motivated for is because you are missing out on "hang out" time with friends. A simple solution is to just make studying a social activity. Even if you don't have any of the same classes, I've recently realized that you can have a blast just sitting at a table together in the library. My study group consists of a Transy senior, two Transy juniors and a nursing student at UK. We are all studying something vastly different, but it helps to be able to stop once in a while and just discuss material with someone that might be unfamiliar with it. This is especially useful with writing.

But anyway, I think that is enough advice for one blog. Before I go, however, I have to update you all on an earleir post. I had mentioned a semester long internship with Disney that I might be participating in. Just wanted to let you know that I decided, for the time being, against attending for a variety of reasons. I am, however, working with the Career Development Center to get a summer internship with The Herald Leader (Lexington's daily newspaper). Hopefully that'll work out well for me! :)

-Jake