How to get the most out of a class lecture or discussion:

Lectures are probably my least favorite classes. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you would agree with me. I like to learn in a hand on type of way and lectures are the exact opposite. Because of this, lectures have been of the harder classes for me, so here are a few tips that I have found helpful in getting through a semester of a lecture or discussion course:

1. If you have been given a reading to do before hand, make sure that you read it thoroughly and assimilate it. If you understand the reading and know where to locate specific points in the text, you will better be able to discuss the text and you will also be able to answer any questions that the professor decides to ask you on the spot.

2.  If you have any questions when reading through the text, mark them down and highlight them. The questions may be answered by your professor during the lecture on the piece, but if not you will know what questions to propose to your professor after the class is dismissed.

3. Make sure you have a notebook ready to take notes during the lecture. Also have your text out so that you can highlight the parts of the text that are emphasized by the professor. Making notes on the actual text also makes it easier to study as you go through and re-read the text. All in all, you need to take notes, no matter how you choose to take them. Even though you may think that you will remember most of the information for the test, you most likely wont. You have to remember you have several other classes that your brain is trying to comprehend and remember as well, so just take notes and save your self a big headache and a poor grade.

4. Enter the lecture with an open mind. You may learn something new or have your views on the subject or topic changed or altered in some way. Be ready to learn. Even though you may not be particularly interested in the subject, you have sixteen weeks of this lecture or class so you might as well try and enjoy yourself. If you go in with a positive attitude, you will obtain more knowledge, which, in turn, will result in a better grade, which will result in a happy you.

5.  If you don’t understand something that is being discussed in the lecture… ASK. We have all heard that saying that if you have a question, chances are, there is someone else in the class that has the same question as you do. This is so true, so just ask the questions you have and help out the rest of the class as well!

How to organize your at home study space

A nicely organized study space can make studying a lot more tolerable! Even though school might not be on our most excitable upcoming events, I think many of us can agree that buying school supplies is very near the top on the list of some of life’s greatest pleasures. Remember back in elementary school when we used to beg our parents to take us to the local office supply store to stock up on binders and colorful folders. The anticipation of having everything that could potentially be needed for an organized and well-stocked school year is still somewhat exciting.

That being said, it is very important to stay organized during college. After all, you are here to learn! Staying on top of things will give you so much more free time and minimize those ever so famous college stress levels.

1. Keeping all those textbooks organized:

Being in college, you automatically have a mini library between your textbooks, binders and required readings. Keeping these organized will help you out tremendously when you’re packing your bag for an all nighter at the library, and will also help you keep track of all of your books, so that you end the year with as many books as you started with.

--my choice for organizing books: magazine holders – 6 files for $13 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Evelots-Magazine-Holders-Office-Organizer/dp/B00TJ50WE6/ref=lp_3744811_1_22?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1439491730&sr=1-22

           

           

2.  Make sure to stock up on pencils, lead, erasers, highlighters and a variety of different colored pens. This is a pretty obvious buy as a college student, however no matter how many you buy at the beginning of the semester, they always seem to disappear quickly. With all of these utentils, keeping them organized is essential.

--my choice for organizing writing utensils: coffee mugs. Any old coffee mugs will do, this is an extremely cheap way of keeping all of your utensils in one place for easy access when needed.

3. Keep a file for homework that is in progress and homework that is finished and ready to turn in, as well as a file for returned homework. This is an extremely helpful way to remain organized, especially when you have a heavy course load. Simple folders work well for this!

4. Keep post it notes on hand! Whenever you have a new assignment write it down on the sticky note with the due date and stick it on your desk. This will help you to manage your assignments and will also remind you about them everytime you sit down or walk past your desk!

I hope this tips helped and I wish you an organized and smooth school year (;

5 Essentials for Living with Roommates

If you want to keep the peace between you and your roommates, here are a few must-have home essentials that you want to keep handy around your apartment.

1.  Headphones-

When you live with roommates, you know that privacy is often hard to come across. Trying to study when your roommates are blasting their music, having a party or even just simply watching TV can obviously make it pretty hard to concentrate.

This is where noise-cancelling headphones come in handy, and trust me, they are definitely worth the investment. When you put these headphones on, you’ll have instant peace and quite. I certainly would have enjoyed these last year when my roommates would decide t wake up at 5 a.m. and make what seemed to be ten smoothies with what seemed to be the loudest blender available for purchase.

2. Have a chore schedule- There’s a lot of chores to be done around the apartment; for example: taking out the trash, cleaning the floors, doing the dishes and making sure the bathrooms stay clean and sanitized. You would think that with several roommates, all of these tasks would get done easily and quickly.

But the trouble with living with multiple people is that everyone assumes that the other person will do it. This will keep happening until the garbage in the kitchen is literally spilling out on the floor.

Mapping out who does what and on what days, and posting the schedule up on the front of the fridge where everyone can see it, is an efficient way to make sure that everyone will know what their task of the week is. This way there is no excuse for the dishes to not be cleaned or the carpet to not be vacuumed. This task list also makes it easy to acknowledge who to politely remind if a certain task doe not get accomplished.

3.  Power strips-

Last semester, three of my roommates and I would all sit in the living room together and tackle our homework. However, four people means four laptops. When you consider everything that’s already plugged into the walls in your living room, like lamps and TV’s, there is not a lot of extra outlet space, especially to have four additional laptops to be plugged in. By investing in a power strip everyone can happily keep their devices plugged in and charged which can also help void off potential arguments.

4.  A shower caddy-

You may not be in a dorm, but that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t benefit from a shower caddy. This item will help maintain an organized bathroom and also help to keep everyone using their own shampoos and body soaps. Without caddies, shampoo and conditioner bottles, body wash, razors and anything else that is used in the bathroom will all get mixed up with one another and soon enough you go to use your shampoo and its completely out because your roommates have been using it.

5. Kitchen labels-

Sharing a kitchen with multiple people can be a recipe for disaster and a catalyst for many arguments. The best way to get past this is to have labels. Right now in my apartment each of us have a shelf in the fridge, which is labeled clearly with our name on it. We also have shelves in the pantry, which are also clearly labeled. This, so far, has prevented any fights about who used what. We also have a shelve in the fridge for dressings and condiments that are clearly labeled for anyone’s use, because in reality there is no reason to have four ranch dressings and four tubs of butter. I think clearly labeling your kitchen will prevent many potential arguments between roommates and keep everyone in the household happy.

Getting Homework Done in College

I know that, especially in the first few weeks of college getting homework done is the ultimate struggle. There are so many distractions; new friends, many welcome back parties, new roommates, a new apartment or dorm..so much “new” and so much to get used to. With all of this excitement happening around you, the last thing you want to think about, let alone set aside hours upon hours to do is homework. However, homework is obviously inevitable in college.

Here are a few things that I have found helpful in aiding me to get my homework done efficiently while still allowing time for social life.

1.    Get rid of any distractions that could prolong the amount of time your homework should take. That means turn off that episode on Netflix that you’ve seen at least ten times. Put the cellphone away or at least turn it on silent and take your headphones out of your ears. If there is anything around you that could be a possible distraction remove it… or remove yourself. I know that when living with multiple other people, sometimes it is hard to surround yourself with a ‘homework friendly’ environment. In this case pack up your books and head to the library or even to Starbucks. Sometimes being in an environment where you are surrounded by others who are getting their work done can be very motivational.

2.    Create a list of what assignments need to be done, and create the list in order of priority, obviously making the earliest due assignment at the top priority along with assignments that require the most work. After you create your initial list, make a list for each day of what you need to accomplish that day in order to allow yourself some time to socialize as well as making sure you are turning in your assignment on time. However, be reasonable with your list so you are not overwhelmed. Focus on one task at a time.

3.   TAKE BREAKS. Your brain needs breaks from studying in order to refresh itself. Go outside and take a walk on the beach or get up and grab a snack to break up the long hours of studying before you.

4.     Get help when you need it. All of the teachers I’ve had in the past two semesters have been impeccable and extremely generous and helpful in their office hours! Use these office hours. Not only does it show your professor that you are serious about the class but you also get some great one on one help. Another great study tactic is to form a study group. Sometimes having another student explain to you how they understand the topic can be extremely helpful!

So the next time that you sit down to tackle your homework, take a look back at this list. You may be amazed at how much you accomplish in one sitting with just a few key pints.

It's that time again

WELCOME BACK! (Or simply WELCOME if this is your first year at Santa Barbara City College). I can’t believe that it’s that time again. I am so excited to be back blogging for this awesome school and guiding you through the student and all around college life at Santa Barbara City College this year. I am going to start with a little motivation for this year to get everyone excited about not only your up and coming year at SBCC but also your life to come as a whole!

This summer I’ve been pretty comfortable with the definition of spontaneous. Primarily, that means attending many last minute music festivals that cost way more than they should and putting myself out there in ways I really hadn’t before, which unanimously lead to me not only finding out a ton about myself, but also creating myself throughout these past three months. I made sure to document all of the crazy fun things that occurred this summer (some planned, others not so well planned, and some unexpected completely), but basically what I am leading into is that somewhere in this ridiculously pleasant summer, I blinked and it was the middle of August. Although this summer was unbelievably awesome, there was, of course, some bumps in the road. I mean, life isn’t always a walk in the park, but the most important thing that I think I’ve learned over the summer is “Dang, I’ve really grown”.  Perhaps, I think I have grown more in this one summer than any other.

Life “sucks” because there’s no way to get “there” without experiencing a journey and that journey can, at times, feel like a steep hill up a rocky mountain, but looking at these steep journeys that occur throughout our lives, you can really see the beauty; each one of these steep hills results in a great outcome, possibly leading to great other opportunities.

I am both terrified and completely comforted when I refer back to the fact that everything that I have experienced so far in my life is “only the beginning”. The fact that I am not even nineteen yet, really excites me. Dispositions aside, the tangible result of all of the “thus far” is that I have answers to some of the most unnerving questions that cross my mind today. And that is true for all of us college students. So lets all make this year a great one. Let’s have fun and be college kids, and do crazy last minute things with our best friends, and make new friends, but still do well in school and make good decisions (most of the time wink, wink). This is our time so don’t waste it!

Have a great start to fall semester 2015, enjoy yourself and accomplish lots because it will be winter break before you know it!! Remember this really is only the beginning and every bump in the road is a learning experience and only a set up for something better to come!