What do I Think it Means to Educated?

Being educated to me means a few things. These are truly my ideas and I could be totally off but from my experience this is what it means to be educated.

First I want to say it is different from smart. Being educated you can act well in all situation the best and most logical way. Not simply knowing who was the first Queen of England(Queen Mary I).

Second off it means basic courtesy for a human. Willing to acknowledge they are not the only person on the planet and helping others to teach others how to act. Having that social awareness displays emotional smarts which is needed in this world.

Third, being able to hold a conversation or arguement. In our world today many people fail in this arena, due to the constant state of social media we are in. I know it is so much easier to send a text with someone then sit down with them and engage in a conversation. An educated person will be willing to talk someone wether they agree with their thoughts or not.

Finally having logical smarts is a good sign. They may not know the answer but they usually figure it out. They use their educated brains to make a very educated guess.

Overall this is what I believe makes an educated person.

Week 7 in Test Heaven

So far we have been asked a lot of questions about our lives, financial things, and now academically! I can't lie and tell you everything has been perfect, full of straight A's and sunshine. It has been hard and grueling work but I am proud.

Are first question was, "How are you doing academically"? I answered it basically above but I can eloborate. I spend most of my day in the library studying everything I learned that day. It is not that bad, the third floor is a great place to feel motiviated to work. I am really shaping my study habits to help me get the best grades I have. I used the charts for Human Biology and it really helped me on the test! I feel like overall I am doing pretty well and I am proud of where I am as of now.

Next question was, "Are you getting the grades that you were expecting"? I'd have to say yes and no. I have all As and one C(which I am not proud of). I didn't expect the C, I have always been a pretty good student and thank one surprised me, I know I can bring it up, I just need to work a hard for this next test.

3rd question was about our dream class or semester. Class would probably be a drama class or an equestrian class(which I know they do not have so I will stick with drama). Drama is really my strong suit and I enjoy getting up in front of people and performing. I hope to take it as an elective later in college.

My last question was about my advisor and what I would ask her. I really want to know if I am able to study abroad. I love traveling but I am crazy in-love with London. A jan-term there would be a dream come true. Though the weather here has matched Londons pretty well this week so I get a little piece of it.

Overall, college is hard but I am always ready for a challenge.

Studying

This week we were asked:

"Do you think you have good study habits? Would your study habits work well for other students?  If not, what do you plan to do about it?"

I would have to say my study habits are good but they are still being shaped to how I like. At the beginning I was quizlet crazy but when I walked into my first test I freaked out and forgot most of the knowledge I had worked so hard on. I barely got a B which I was upset about. Now, I really use those flow charts in class we were given as well as teaching my notes to an "imaginary class". 

I learn all of notes and then make a flow chart based off it, study for 45 minutes and take a 15 minute break doing nothing and not touching my phone, then I attempt to fill in all the blanks of my flow chart, finally I teach it after studying for about 15 more minutes.  It is very tailored to my style of learning so I am sure another student could use it but would have to tweak it to their learning style. 

For example, I showed my friend my flow chart and she looked at it and was so confused she said, "What is that? Looks like you threw up Human Biology on a page". I told her how I learned it and she quizzed me and I was able to get all the questions right. She basically reviews everything by acting it out and then writing it down so not my style at all, I hate hand writing things. 

I also am starting to make a daily schedule, a min. of 4 hours of studying in the library and making sure I get breaks. It may seem like a lot but most of my classes are brutal. I do hope they get easier, which they won't but I know I will become more accustomed to them over time. 

Overall I think my study habits are really over trial and error which is hard but it doesn't mean I am not gonna succeed. 

Week 5 and Still Alive

This week was crazy!! Not much interesting happened but I studied a ton! It was a week that all the teachers believed lots of hw and tests was what we needed. In Highschool I was convinced all the teachers got together and decided that this one week was where all the test, projects, homework, and busy work was piled on the students to watch them and see how they react. I think there are too many Professors here to do that but you never know.....(lol).

I had a tough test in math but it helped me now know what to expect and be better next time. Math is really hard but I am able to teach myself anything as long as I don't get distracted, which is quite easy for me.

This weekend I went home to see my little sister compete in a gymnastic competition. She is super good and so fun to watch. There is much time in between her events so I got some good studying, which was nice to be with my fam but gets lots of human bio stuffed in my brain!

Overall, Camryn, my sister did amazing! She is 11 and loves every second of gymnastic. She got all nines in Bar, Beam, and Floor and an eight in Vault. The judges were very difficult and most girls were getting sevens and eights. She is so incredible at it, I do not understand how she is so focused and precise. I was a gymnast once but I was not a fan of tough love. Horses though can be just as stubborn as gymnastic coaches though. I told her that and she laughed.

Knowing that Fall break is coming up really helped me take a deep breathe in and out and get ready for what is too come!!

Really the community around me has been amazing! Everybody is very willing to help which is nice since I get lost easily and look a bit like a chicken with it's head cut off! Enhancing Samford to me right now is being helpful or being the reason someone laughs or smiles that day. If I can, I will try to always go out of my way to help someone in need and I try to smile at everyone I see, even if I look a bit goofy! I think those little moments in the day when others smile back makes my day so much better. If everyone smiles at least one person a day then imagine how happy Samford would be!

My biggest resource has been the gym. I love running, but with it being 1,000 degrees outside I prefer just workout indoors. A place for me to let off my anxiety of the day is perfect. I promise myself that whenever I walk in I do not think of anything school, social, stressful things, etc. I always feel like when I walk in there it is just me and God and I love to run and listen to what he has to say to me. I may be sweating buckets but it is so calming.