I ask myself this question often. As my senior year came to a close, my brother Joey, 10 years my senior, and long out of college, tried to warn me of how college would be. I was a small town girl who thought I knew it all, and certainly did not heed any of his advice. As my first semester at UMF came to a close, I learned many things. I guess I just had to live it for myself, first. What I have learned thus far, mostly due to making my own stubborn mistakes, is, most importantly, to not put things off. If you let yourself put it off for one day, you’ll put it off for a week. I know this to be true, yet old habits die hard. Second of all, there is no shame in seeking help. One of my greatest downfalls is that I never look to others for strength. I have been going through a rough patch in my life, and could use help, but my skewed view of reality tells me that asking for help is a sign of weakness, thus I hold my tongue. I know that I have extreme time management problems which I have recently sought help to realign, as well as several emotional issues that need to be straightened out in time. Thirdly, meet with your professors early. This I learned very well. I was having a lot of difficulty at my first semester of UMF. Maybe it was being pulled out of my small republican pocket, and thrust into a world of democratic ideals, maybe it was the fact that I was no longer in a safe haven of only 200 people, either way, college was giving me a lot of trouble. I was definitely at the breaking point. However, after much debate amongst myself I came back. And this time I am trying to work hard, to enact the above ideals. The emotional baggage is still there to way me down, my mind still leads me down the road to procrastination, though less soften, and I still am just as stubborn as ever. But I am trying. I have sought out my professors to let them know that I am having difficulty, and to ask how I am doing in the class, and what I need in order to improve, and I am getting better at getting things in on time. Real life still gets in the way, but its better. My life experiences have taught me a lot, and though I may have messed up my first semester I feel it was definitely worth it because I did indeed learn from my mistakes and am trying to correct them. No ever said this would be easy, and I will improve, and I will become a high school math teacher someday. Anythings possible, you just have to want it, and I want success at UMF.
My greatest concern in this field of course, is that I will have to take an extra semester, because of my less than perfect first semester. I have talked to my advisor about this, but I still am a little uneasy. I guess my question is what is "better"? My advisor mentioned taking several may term classes to boost my GPA, and help take care of the class I failed first semester, which is what I will most likely end up doing. However, I am wondering if there are other options, or, rather, what will happen if I don’t take any may terms. Can I still become a teacher, and how long will that take? Will I have to do just one extra semester, or a full year?
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wow. lots of reflection. good for you. well-done, too. glad you're looking at what you can do and not just whining. most prefer to whine and blame, but not you!
as for your questions about May term and your 4-year plan, there are other options . . . some might be better or they may be worse. you're smart to explore them now; the longer you wait, the fewer there will be. I'd be happy to meet with you if you'd like.
dr.theresa
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