stress – The Unconventional Millennial

I grew up following my mom around the house with a mountain of books and reading to her every chance I got…which was ALL the time considering she worked from home. My book collection was the equivalent of what a public library would have, but I always seemed to pick the same five books to read. One of which was Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go…one of Mom’s favorites as well! While she listened to every book I read there was something special about this book that wasn’t evident until recently.

The theme is simple; it talks about the journey of life and its challenges. However, I can only imagine the feeling a mother has as they listen to their child read this book…anticipating their child’s future, how their child will change the world and the uncertainties their child will face along the way, all while having this deep, yet simple book narrated by an innocent, optimistic, worry-free, five-year-old.

Now fast forward 16 years and that future is today, the opportunity to impact the world is here and that mountain of books I once read is now a mountain of uncertainties. For 21 years, I followed a set and simple path…go to school and get an education! That’s ALL I’ve known.

I knew if I performed well by the tests I took, the papers I turned in and the report cards my parents had to sign. There was a set measurement of success and each accomplishment advanced me to the next grade, next school and eventually my next “home away from home” …college!

Now post-graduation, there are no grades to motivate me to perform well, I have to find my own motivation and what excites me, there are no advisors telling me to sign up for five specific classes, only mentors offering me advice that I can take or leave and there is no way for my parents to track my progress, only the trust they have in me that I’m working towards my future!

Don’t get me wrong this is all wonderful and what’s supposed to happen when you become a college graduate, but it’s interesting when all sudden you become that funny looking person wearing a yellow onesie and a yellow hat to compliment and realize “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who will decide where to go.”

Crazy!

But not to worry Dr. Seuss didn’t steer us wrong and there is a lot of truth in this witty rhyme. I would encourage anyone in college, nearing graduation or recently graduated and feeling the pressure of this grown-up thing to not overthink it, grab a cup of coffee (just don’t make it black because we’re not that grown up) and pull Oh, The Places You’ll Go off your Mom’s bookshelf and prepare to be inspired!

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

If you would have told me two years ago I would be working 25 hours a week, taking 13 hours of classes, playing tennis on Monday nights, playing intramural sports on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, bowling in league on Thursdays, and attending every Aggie sporting event, I would have said you are CRAZY! I’m not going to lie it’s tough at times to fit everything in and to give a 110% effort, but I have found that I work best when I am busiest. My highest GPAs have happened during the semesters that I packed all this in. I believe it made me realize how to efficiently and effectively allocate my time. I’m more productive when I know I have an hour to study as opposed to all day.

Additionally, I have gotten in a few routines to help avoid the stress of attempting to fit everything in when it just doesn’t seem possible:

1. The 5 AM Club- If you have read any business book or heard about the routines of successful business individuals you will find that the majority are a big advocate of waking up early and getting things done, “before the rest of the world is up”. I may not get up at 5 every morning, but I am up early enough to be productive before I head off to school or work since most other activities occur during the evening hours and that time is lost.

2. Hand write Class Notes- I used to type all my notes while the professor talked like most other students do. However, I found and it’s proven that if you hand write your notes you retain information better. I am a firm believer in this because now when I go to study for tests I don’t rack my brain trying to remember when we went over “all this stuff”. The information is retained much more naturally.

3. Review My Notes Every Night- I also got in habit of reading class notes when I get home from school. This has helped tremendously because when I go to study for tests I am just reviewing information. Based on my schedule of having classes twice a week and tests about every three weeks I would have reviewed notes from the first class 6 times, the second class 5 times, the third class 4 times, etc, etc. It makes studying a breeze!

4. Study Between Classes- I have 4 classes back to back on Mondays and Wednesdays, which means I have 20 minutes between each class. Given that all my classes are in the Wehner building…..some classes are even in the same classroom I don’t have far to go. Therefore, I have tried to make an effort to utilize that time to knock out homework, projects, or studying. If you think about it that’s 1 hour and 20 minutes each day, 2 hours and 40 minutes a week, and 10 hours and 40 minutes a month of either wasted or productive time…..all depending on how proactive I am 😉