Finals Week? Already?! What?! Winter Term?! What?! December?! Christmas?! New years?! How did this time of year get here so quick? I swear it was just last week we were having 100 degree summer days and now finals are here and were getting ready for winter term. This has been one heck of a term!

I guess it took me a full term of being online to figure out what some of my natural strengths are when it comes to online learning, but that’s okay. I never really thought about it; because it comes so naturally anymore but my typing skills have really improved over the years, I think when it comes to typing i’m pretty quick and that I feel is something that will come in pretty dang handy being an online student where now I am typing up literally everything; where as in my past years of college the only thing that ever really got typed was an essay that was due here and there, because being an Ag. major there’s more labs to conduct that papers to write. A strength that I have always carried and know that it will get me through at OSU is my determination! Over the years iv always had something to work toward that has kept me going (kinda like sticking an apple on the end of a stick in front of a horse so it keeps moving, except with me you could stick a piece of chocolate cake in front of me and you’d have me running for it!) Whether i’m determined to finish an assignment early, or just determined to get through the dang term, it always has me pushing myself to do the best I can. I am so extremely determined to make this my last year of college, and because of that I have passed every class this term; which honestly is a struggle for me some terms. Of course I feel like there’s always something I could improve on, if I could have it all then why not? Right? And my reading skills could definitely use some improving. Iv mentioned this before but when it comes to having to sit and read through a textbook, it is extremely hard for me to accomplish, I often find myself quickly scanning through the required reading materials or loosing interest or focus too quickly, either way I feel I don’t retain the information like I should which means I am having to go back a re read the sections that my brain didn’t connect with. This is something I have yet to figure out how to improve, but once I do, boy that will be the money maker right there!

Over the past years of school, note taking has always been my friend, like best friend! Not just so I have something to look back over and study before an exam but also because writing things down helps me retain that information so much better. It also helps me feel little bit more organized with my thoughts. Being online this term, I don’t think I ever took a single stinking note once over the past 10 weeks. Now for some of my classes, its okay, note taking wasn’t really a must for those ones, but for others I can say that looking back now I definitely could have gained a little from taking some handy dandy notes. So for the upcoming winter term, I think I will start out taking notes for all classes then as the weeks go by I can see which classes my notes are helping from and which ones I don’t really need to worry about notes with. And if I can, even try and makes some flash cards too! Those I can always benefit from!

My academic advisor has always been the one I can go to with all my academic troubles and they seem to always have an answer for everything. I have talked with her multiple times and she seems to always been so encouraging and supportive, and heck iv only ever met her over the phone. She is always open to setting up a phone call appointment with me and responds to her emails so quickly, she is someone that I really feel I can trust.

My goal for the next term is the same that it was for this term, pass all my courses! That goal will then carry over to Spring term. This is just a short term goal, but it helps to lead up to my long term goal, which is to finish school by then end of this academic year. By completing the smaller goals I have, to pass all my classes each term, that will then result in me completing my bigger goal of finishing school up this year. I know that if I pass each required class in the next two terms, like I was able to do this term (Yay!) I will have completed all of my college education and can, finally, graduate! Figuring out what my goals were have always been clear, it was trying to figure out how I would accomplish those goals. Let me say that it has been a long, long term, but all the late nights of studying, crammed hours of homework, payed off. Now I just got to do it for two more terms, and i’m done!

It has been so great to work will you all this term and I hope finals are nice to you this week! Good luck to you. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!!

Hello everyone!

Can you believe it’s already week three?! I forget how these weeks during the term just fly by! This is my fifth year in college (i’m taking things slow) and my first time blogging, I don’t exactly know what i’m doing so this should be fun!

Lets start with my struggles and get that out of the way! Though I am a fifth year, this is my first year online, the past four years I was on campus with an online class here and there, so I am completely trying to re-accommodate my learning strategies to work with all my online courses. I am a very hands on, visual learner. Being an Ag Science major that works great because I have had a lot of classes that had labs or even field trips, but with online learning there are no soil labs or field trips to elk feeding grounds. I feel like it consist of a lot a reading, and that’s something that is hard for me to sit and do (unless its a novel by Jeannette Walls!), I tend to go from reading to quickly scanning the pages and then sometimes even dozing off. I know I can do it, its just going to take a little more motivation and maybe an extra cup of coffee.

Onward with my surprises. It was hard trying to think of something that had surprised me, thinking over the past couple weeks nothing came to mind until I thought about how well I have been able to manage my time with my classes. In the past I have been quite the procrastinator, an assignment was never late but I did have a few close calls, staying late in the library finishing up a paper that was due the next day. But this time I was worried it would be worse with online course, no classes at a certain time to get my butt out the door, no study group meetings between classes and work, for a bit I thought everything would be one big messy wad of school. Though I am writing this blog at midnight, the house is quiet with not distractions, my husband is working late, I have a handful peanut butter m&m’s and the dog is asleep at my feet, this is the perfect time to let my words flow! Not only and I surprised at how well I have been able to manage my time with classes, I am very proud of myself for it, something I thought would actual be a struggle but I am totally rocking it!

Upward with my strengths! For some reason its always easier to think of your struggles rather than your strengths. I think my greatest strength is my determination. Like I said, this is my fifth year in school, i’m so ready to be done after this year! Because of my determination, I think that is why I have been able to manage my time so well and work on overcoming my struggles.I know that in order to get my degree this spring I have to pass all my classes, and to pass my classes I need good grades; I am very determined to get good grades, to pass my classes to finally get that 30 thousand dollar piece of paper in the spring!