One Down, Two To GO!

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!!