Advice for Dorm Politics

College dorms are a bit like little countries. Each dorm has its own stereotype and its internal politics, not always related. Different floors in the same dorm have different cultures; some groups may be in tensions with one another. Dorms may have celebrities: the people the gossip is about or the people everyone knows. Maybe even the people everyone dislikes.

All of these tensions and quirks come to a head in dorm politics. When you get involved in dorm politics, you're stepping forward for responsibility and discussion.


Read more for advice on entering dorm politics.

Popularity

It's sad to say, but things don't change that much since high school at least for dorm politics and elections. Popularity can be a major part of who 'succeeds' in dorm politics. 

Different floors have different popularities as do different residents. Some residents are known to be friendly to all floors and are loved while other residents may never be seen outside of their room. These different reputations can affect voting as can floor reputations. If your floor is known to be the 'fun social floor' you may have and advantage over a resident who lives on the 'quiet study floor' for a position that typically goes to outgoing people. 

Also keep in mind that different floors may have popularity and legacies for positions. Sometimes a inter-dorm position is always filled by a person from a particular sorority. 

Please don't be discouraged if you want to get involved. There is a lot that goes in and most dorm leadership delegates to people. If you goals is to help rather than hold a position, you're sure to be able to find a cause to help with. 

Mob Mentality Happens

Try to remember that dorm politics draws out the worst in people. Individuals that are perfectly fine may turn into horrors when in a group. Group dynamics turn into mob mentality. A dorm is what some people consider a home; most people have strong opinions about where they're living. When people start e-mailing large groups of people, things can quickly get out of hand. Some people are looking for drama or a distraction from their own work. Whatever the case is, take a step back from the drama. If you want to or feel comfortable doing so, talk to a few people one on one, in a quiet relaxed place.

• Be very careful of dorm politics close to exams. People are stressed and may react much more strongly and negatively when they're stressed. Others may use dorm politics as a distraction from their exams. Tensions are always high so try to plan cushion time around exams.

Change

People dislike change. Even good change can cause negative reactions. Don't take this personally. It has nothing to do with you. It may not even have anything to do with the change that you are proposing.

Ask people to do you a favor, to try out the change. Let them know that they can go back to the traditional. If you can, offer a celebration - free smoothies, small snacks, dinner for those who offer opinions- to welcome the change, and discuss to improve it. Not to mention that the best way to cut down discontent after a change is to point out that no one spoke out when initiating the change.

Morals

Do what you think is right. This is the most important. You're not the president of the US; you are still you. Even if it means that you lose your position for a term, do what you think is right. In the long term, it means a lot more to you, to your friends, and to the dorm.

In my experience, the thing that really sticks with you is whether you did the right thing. While hurtful words can be painful in the moment, the thing that gave me strength was that I was doing good for people. Time usually ends up proving you right.

For example, I was really adamant about making sure people submitted their presidential application early on. I brought up in discussion with the dorm the problem we had of claiming to be inclusive but really not doing anything to fix the divisive issues between floors. A person stepped forward to be president late in the game; I questioned if we should let their application be put to a vote since they hadn't demonstrated any interest in the position aside from claiming to be inclusive without a plan of action. People really criticized me especially after this person won the election; I had a hard time of it and was less welcome on the floor this person was a part of. But I knew that expressing my concern for the dorm was the right thing to do. When the going got tough, the president huffily resigned. In the end, I was right. It didn't make me happy to be right.

What did make me glad was that I had done the right thing and weathered the storm that went with it. Because I had spoken up, other people and I were prepared to step in and help the dorm as we transitioned between presidents mid-term.

Confrontations

The best way to avoid confrontation is to leave room for face-to-face conversation. This might sound counter intuitive, but it's very empirically true. People are much nastier when they don't have to see the face of the person that they are talking about.

Sending out an email with the intent for it to stay under the radar only encourages a flame war.

Set up a meeting time that's a little removed from the blow up: give them time to cool down and give yourself time to think about what you want to say.

• What do you see as the problem?
• What do they see as the problem?
• Are these problems compatible?
• What are the resources available for this?
• How can you help people who are having this problem?
• Why did you feel the need to speak up?
• Where is the other person coming from?

Advice for Dorm Politics

College dorms are a bit like little countries. Each dorm has its own stereotype and its internal politics, not always related. Different floors in the same dorm have different cultures; some groups may be in tensions with one another. Dorms may have celebrities: the people the gossip is about or the people everyone knows. Maybe even the people everyone dislikes.

All of these tensions and quirks come to a head in dorm politics. When you get involved in dorm politics, you're stepping forward for responsibility and discussion.


Read more for advice on entering dorm politics.

Moving Forward From Failure: Get Started!

I find failure to be the most difficult thing to overcome. Maybe it's the fact that failure had such a high cost in my youth. Maybe it's just that failure represents the effort put into the attempt not being quite enough.

via: Left handed toons People don't actually laugh at our failures

But here's what I do to get over my fear of failure and get started on a project.

Mentally Approaching Failure 

During our youth, it seems that many of us were told that talent or intelligence meant never failing, having things come to us easily. Therefore, when we face difficulty or worse yet failure, we question one of the fundamentals of our identity: our talent. The ideology behind this comes from the concept of a Romantic genius, a person with natural talent whose work far exceeds what practice and route learning can achieve in the untalented.

But this is a silly notion. Even the Romantic geniuses had failures!
Friedrich did studies for his paintings; even The Wanderer had its precursor. Chalk Cliffs is nowhere near the statement as the The Wanderer. It's not a shame to the artist that he went through a process of refinement for his ideas. That's what failure is: the process of improvement.Van Gogh did not immediately paint a perfect canvas: often he painted over his failures, adapting them to the improvement of his next work.

Fear of Mockery

Our greatest fear seems to be that we will be laughed at or mocked for our failures.

Let's remember van Gogh. Most art historians lament that he painted over his "failures." They wish that they could see the process that he went through, much as they pour over the sketches of those painters trained by the French Academy.

And okay, somebody laughed at your failure? So what? What are they doing? Instead of taking that time to be improving themselves, they're paying attention to you. If anything, that means that you're already succeeding. You're gaining attention for your new work. You've got an audience for your future success. You're making someone else feel happy, maybe a vindictive happy that reflects on their inner demons, but still happy. So don't worry about it.

The Cost of Failure

"I spent so much time working on it but it didn't turn out right."
"Look at all the money that went into that ugly thing! What a waste."
"My reputation's ruined by that fiasco. No one will let me try again!"

We've all heard or said these things about our own efforts that ended in failure.

But what have we said about the profits of success?

Consider failures investments. Don't jump into large ones; slowly build. Develop a skill. It only takes a single success to put you on the market, but all success requires skill.

In the case of drawing: Start out on cheap newsprint as you learn to draw or paint. Invest in a few nice sketchbooks. When those are filled, you'll see improvement. You'll have the wisdom to choose the style and medium that best suits you. A few quality finished works on canvas will yield more and more knowledge, based on the sketches you continue to do on cheap paper. Finally, you'll have a piece that satisfies you. You can send this succes to a gallery where it may or may not be accepted. But you will always have the skill of drawing, a skill that can continue to grow.

Moving Forward From Failure: Get Started!

I find failure to be the most difficult thing to overcome. Maybe it's the fact that failure had such a high cost in my youth. Maybe it's just that failure represents the effort put into the attempt not being quite enough.

via: Left handed toons People don't actually laugh at our failures

But here's what I do to get over my fear of failure and get started on a project.

Motivate Yourself: What is Work?

I think we all have days where we just can't do any work.

But that doesn't mean that day is a loss. Sometimes you can trick yourself into getting "work" done. Other times you just need to realize how much work you're already doing.

I'll share a few tricks for getting yourself into getting stuff done when your body just won't cooperate.

Set the mood

Often the reason I can't get work done is because of a bad or lazy mood. To deal with a lack of motivation, let's first qualify what it means to get work done. There are all sorts of tasks that need to get done in a day. Some of them are chores; others are complex creative tasks; others are matters of routine. Some relaxing but necessary tasks we don't even consider when making our to-do lists: showering, eating, cooking, taking a moment for breathing. But all of these things need to happen in a day.

It seems ridiculous to de-value the things that have to get done. Without going grocery shopping and cooking food, you'd starve. Shouldn't that make those tasks the most important part of your day?

Do chores

I find that the reason I can't focus on a large academic "important" task is because I've allowed too many of these "little" chores pile up. In that sense too we can see that everyday chores are important and part of getting work done. Without keeping up on chores and self-care, we can lose our motivation for larger tasks.

Try out these physical chores with the intended mental goals in mind.

• Cleaning your room
• Refocus and de-clutter your mind
• Open up your windows to let in sunlight
• Brighten your outlook
• Wash and dry dishes
• Drift on what you need to do
• Throw away old lists and papers
• Prioritize the things left 
• Empty the trash can
• Let go of baggage
• Do laundry
• Focus and pacing

Pacing

Work is not sitting in one place for hours and hours. The Social Network might show us people "plugging in" for hours at a time, but most people don't work this way. The human body isn't designed to sit in one place for a long time; cramped and tired out is usually the end result of this type of studying and work. So don't study in a way that physically saps motivation and sets you up to fail!

Study to your body's needs and personal habits

Most people can only concentrate on a task for 45 minutes which is about the time a load of laundry takes. After a block of time concentrating, take a break to do a physical activity to pump your body back up and keep yourself from getting tired. This will help your motivation.

Motivate Yourself: What is Work?

I think we all have days where we just can't do any work.

But that doesn't mean that day is a loss. Sometimes you can trick yourself into getting "work" done. Other times you just need to realize how much work you're already doing.

I'll share a few tricks for getting yourself into getting stuff done when your body just won't cooperate.

Rousseau: Life to the Fullest

Understanding the education is preparation for life, we can now figure out how to embrace that life. Sometimes it can be very difficult to create an approach to life that allows you to embrace the moment. Hearing peers anxiously talk about grad school in their freshman years or professors drone on about the impenetrability of academia can make it seem like life takes place in stretches of decades rather than days. But your life is made of days!

Fortunately, there are great minds who have already written about the focus on the day to day life, and the benefits to embracing daily joy. Let's look at a quote from Rousseau, on of the great thinkers from the 18th century. His writings on education will help us to better understand what an effect positivity can have on us, as we approach our life and our education. 

Read more for wisdom on embracing your day!

You can read the first part at Rousseau: Education to the Fullest.

Let's continue with the Rousseau quote and finding a way to embrace the day to day.

The Quote

"We think only of preserving his life and limb. It is not enough; he ought to be taught how to preserve them himself when he is grown up; to endure the shocks of fortune, to bear riches or poverty, and to live, if occasion required, amid the snows of Iceland or on the burning rocks of the Malta. [...] It is of less moment to preserve him from death than to teach him how to live. To live is not merely to breather; it is to act, to make proper use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, and all parts of our being which contribute to our consciousness of life. he has not had most life who has lived most years, but he who has felt life the most. A man may be buried a hundred years old and have died in his cradle. Such a one would have gained by dying in youth if had lived till then." (Rousseau on Education, Introductory Passages from the "Emilie," Part 2. Education and the state)

Education as a Lifestyle

Education is about the here and now. Put in your very best into every aspect of what you're learning. Reach out to professors and jump at opportunities. Education isn't about sitting back in a lecture hall and letting it happen to you. Education is an action, one that requires persistent effort from all of our faculties. Sometimes it's tiring; you may feel like you're putting yourself out there, asking "stupid" questions or sending out applications that others wouldn't dare to try for. But that's an education!

Reaching out for knowledge and passion from your education is your education. Even when your hand falls short, you've gone farther and learned more than the people who didn't dare to reach.

Embracing the Moment

It's very important to focus on living life in the moment. I think that what makes each day valuable is appreciating the small moments. Enjoy every day and take advantage of the opportunities that the small times present. Even if it's just having dinner with a friend or finishing a book that seemed to take forever to get through, these are valuable achievements and memories. Your life isn't just major events or waiting for the next "big thing." Instead of putting off adventure, embrace it. Heck, go out there and create it! Certainly there will be failures, not everything is an exciting success the first time. Those failures are opportunities to laugh and learn, a skill which will serve you well as life changes constantly.


Don't wait for a perfect moment to start living; that moment doesn't exist before you put effort into creating it. 

Rousseau: Life to the Fullest

Understanding the education is preparation for life, we can now figure out how to embrace that life. Sometimes it can be very difficult to create an approach to life that allows you to embrace the moment. Hearing peers anxiously talk about grad school in their freshman years or professors drone on about the impenetrability of academia can make it seem like life takes place in stretches of decades rather than days. But your life is made of days!

Fortunately, there are great minds who have already written about the focus on the day to day life, and the benefits to embracing daily joy. Let's look at a quote from Rousseau, on of the great thinkers from the 18th century. His writings on education will help us to better understand what an effect positivity can have on us, as we approach our life and our education. 

Read more for wisdom on embracing your day!

How to Politely Skip Class

There are always going to be days where you don't want to go class. Sometimes it's that you're tired; other times the weather is bad. There are ways to keep skipping class from being a major hindrance. The most difficult thing is making sure that the professor doesn't mind. Most classes have clear policy on attendance. Of course in attendance based classes skipping will have an effect on your grade. Even if attendance isn't part of the grade, showing up to class is important. Carefully judge whether skipping class is worth it. To be fair, I skip a class about once a month. Usually, I take the time to catch up on sleep or studying.

In the cases that you decide skipping class is worth it, here's a good guide to politely skipping class.

you are not subtle with excuses

If there isn't a legitimate reason to skip class, don't make up a reason. Lecturing professors have heard it all before, easily sorting honest reasons from lame excuses. While you may think a late night of DODA can be covered for with "a family emergency," your prof will probably be able to see through you.

Don't make an excuse. If you feel the need to approach the professor, just earnestly apologize for missing class and ask if there's anything you can do to make up the work. If you plan to miss class, ask a friend to take good notes for you and email the prof asking for the work you'll miss.

legitimate reasons have paper trails

For legitimate reasons to miss class, get a paper trail. If you're very sick, go to the doctor. Although this might be a pain, a doctor's note can be turned in to your professor to excuse an absence. As silly as it might be, an email from your parents describing the family difficulty can turn a recalcitrant professor into a sympathetic mentor. If you go to a GRT or other dorm staff for help due to drama that's really affecting you, ask that person to email your professor. While they may not be a grand authority, their word holds more weight than yours on its own.

Check to see if your school has a department or office for students experiencing difficulties. For example, students with crutches or arm braces can go to the Office of Disabilities to get transportation to and from class and class note takers, respectively. Or a student dealing with exam anxiety can go to Student Support Service to request more time on an exam or a separate room for test taking.

safe skip: the lecture after an exam

This is a favorite lecture of mine to skip, especially since I'm usually still tired from studying for the exam. A portion of the lecture is "wasted" going over the exam results . I say waste since most classes post solutions to exams online and the next office hours are dedicated to answering questions on the exam. The start of new material is very important as it is the base for everything else, but it's also the easiest to learn. So I find this to be an overall decent lecture to miss.

leave at break

If you show up for class but feel the need to leave midway through, the best time to leave is at the break. If there's no break, try to aim for a natural pause in discussion or speach. This is something that should be saved for the worst most desperate case as most professors will notice and may even take you leaving personally.

do not leave if exodus

Some lectures suffer from a large mass of people leaving all at once. In the case that a group of people are leaving, don't join them. Staying on the day that the class is nearly empty is equivalent to telling the prof that you value their class. Professors notice your presence then more than ever.

How to Politely Skip Class

There are always going to be days where you don't want to go class. Sometimes it's that you're tired; other times the weather is bad. There are ways to keep skipping class from being a major hindrance. The most difficult thing is making sure that the professor doesn't mind. Most classes have clear policy on attendance. Of course in attendance based classes skipping will have an effect on your grade. Even if attendance isn't part of the grade, showing up to class is important. Carefully judge whether skipping class is worth it. To be fair, I skip a class about once a month. Usually, I take the time to catch up on sleep or studying.

In the cases that you decide skipping class is worth it, here's a good guide to politely skipping class.

Positivity: Education to the Fullest from Rousseau

Walking through the Infinite, I'm always amazed by the project posters and the chatter of discovery that surrounds MIT. I love the feeling of excited and frenzied exploration that permeates the people, the very buildings.

But there's something that makes me a little anxious: the concept of a technology education  Some of my peers see their time here as a way to gather up data points to store and recite for accolades. Others see technology as unequivocally good, unquestioning of the pursuit of knowledge and a fancy career. And there's always the disparaging of HASS, class that focus on the humanities. I can't count how many times have I been told that "readings for HASS classes are optional" or that "there's aren't any jobs in that; it's useless."

Something has changed about the way we approach education. We seem to see education as a decoration for our resume rather than a way to see the world.

(image via stephenhicks)

Read more for Rousseaus' vision of education as a way to impact individuals.

Education for Society

Let's look to a quote from Rousseau's writings on education. Please consider that all of your life is an education, a preparation for the next day to come and a way to prepare future generations with the wisdom you have gained. When Rousseau wrote of education, he wrote of education as the process from childhood that would structure and prepare young people who would form society. Always, he thought of the effect education would have on the society as a whole, a society in line with the ideals of antiquity. 

Ideal Education

Rousseau had the idea that education should return to the earlier style of the Romans, removing children from theoretical academics (which he saw as useless ego stroking) and instead allowing young people to pursue their interests whole heartedly and with lots of hands on experience. He wanted to grant poor students scholarships that would be proudly awarded. Education was meant to enrich people morally and mentally, always a tool rather than a decoration.

Education included the mind and body. Physical education and a connection to nature were very important to Rousseau; he felt that competitive and group athletics in the outdoors would improve students and their communities. Rousseau thought that the whole community should gather to honor athletes and encourage young people to work together in sports. This would build the community and help people to see their ideals of leadership, sacrifice, and cooperation in action.

The Quote

"We think only of preserving his life and limb. It is not enough; he ought to be taught how to preserve them himself when he is grown up; to endure the shocks of fortune, to bear riches or poverty, and to live, if occasion required, amid the snows of Iceland or on the burning rocks of the Malta. [...] It is of less moment to preserve him from death than to teach him how to live. To live is not merely to breather; it is to act, to make proper use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, and all parts of our being which contribute to our consciousness of life. he has not had most life who has lived most years, but he who has felt life the most. A man may be buried a hundred years old and have died in his cradle. Such a one would have gained by dying in youth if had lived till then." (Rousseau on Education, Introductory Passages from the "Emilie," Part 2. Education and the state)

Meaning and Focus

Let's focus on the first section of the quote:

He ought to be taught how to preserve himself when he is grown up; to endure the shocks of fortune, to bear riches or poverty.

This is not what our college education does! That's not even how most people approach education!

Most people approach education as a way to get a well paid career or as a marker of the upper middle class. But really education should be so much more than that. Think of the great Greek thinkers: Plato and Socrates certainly wrote, debated, and educated for the young men of the elite. But they spoke to these men with questions, in order to change society and to give these men the means by which to live and find their own understandings.

Rousseau is suggesting the same thing: education should prepare young people for life with a style of thinking rather than a collection of datums.

Education's purpose isn't to make money or a sparkling career. Education has the purpose of preparing us to live our lives regardless of money. An education is supposed to make us consider the role that money plays in our lives. A good education should give us a sustainable approach to life, one that we can live in the ups and downs of life.

Because there will always be ups and downs, education should teach us how to ride life; no number of degrees can protect us from uncertainty or fragility.  

In the next section, we'll turn to the second part of Rousseau's quote.

Positivity: Education to the Fullest from Rousseau

Walking through the Infinite, I'm always amazed by the project posters and the chatter of discovery that surrounds MIT. I love the feeling of excited and frenzied exploration that permeates the people, the very buildings.

But there's something that makes me a little anxious: the concept of a technology education  Some of my peers see their time here as a way to gather up data points to store and recite for accolades. Others see technology as unequivocally good, unquestioning of the pursuit of knowledge and a fancy career. And there's always the disparaging of HASS, class that focus on the humanities. I can't count how many times have I been told that "readings for HASS classes are optional" or that "there's aren't any jobs in that; it's useless."

Something has changed about the way we approach education. We seem to see education as a decoration for our resume rather than a way to see the world.

(image via stephenhicks)

Read more for Rousseaus' vision of education as a way to impact individuals.

Classroom Etiquette

One of the most important things for college is the new code of etiquette for college lectures. It's very different from high school but still important for making sure that your professor has a good opinion of you.

Here's my guide to lectures and college classes, how you should behave in lecture. The advice will go through cellphones, bathroom breaks, sleeping and more.

• going to the bathroom

At my high school, we had passes to go to the bathroom. It was very embarrassing: students had to get the teacher's attention and signature in a pass book to go to the bathroom. Even worse, for each class, you were only allowed to go to the bathroom twice a semester. 

Fortunately, college lectures allow you to go to the bathroom whenever you want. It is of course preferable to go before or after class, but in the case of emergencies it's easy to slide off during a lull. Many professors even have a mid-lecture break if allotted more than an hour. 

In my mind, there's no shame in needing to use the bathroom and I don't much care if students or professors judge me for drinking lots of water and then needing to use the restroom. Your body needs what your body needs.

• eating and drinking

Eating is really up to the professor. Some professors will make clear at the start of class their policy on eating, especially if it's verboten. Most don't mind students drinking water or coffee during a morning class along with a quiet granola bar. Evening classes tend to be quite lax about food policies, often expecting students to eat. For example, my Monday evening class goes from 7 pm - 10 pm so the professor told us on the first lecture that food was alright.

I'd personally suggest something you can pick up and put down while taking notes. As always, try to eat quietly without making a mess. Nachos for example are a bad idea: loud and messy salsa. Foods without strong odors are considerate of the people around you. 

• sleeping

Of course you shouldn't be sleeping in class. But we all have moments where we dose off during a particularly dull lecture due to a late night cramming. 

If you expect to be falling asleep, consider skipping the class. There's nothing to be gained from sleeping through a lecture; it may even reflect worse on you than missing one lecture. If you decide to attend and sleep through, sit in the back of the class. There's nothing worse for you and others than being the student snoring in the front row. 

If you absolutely don't want to fall asleep but may fall to temptation, have a friend or seat mate periodically tap you to wake you up. It may be a little embarrassing to ask a stranger sitting next to you for a favor, but that embarrassment may also keep you from falling asleep.

• cellphone

Put your cell phone on silent during lecture.

Let me repeat that: Cell phones should be on silent during class.

This isn't high school; no one's going to confiscate your phone. But everyone will turn to look at you, especially if you have a hilarious song for your ring tone.

Personally, I suggest putting your cell phone on your lap during lecture so that you can check the time without loudly rummaging through your bag. If the professor has a no cell phone policy, turn your phone off and leave it in your bag to totally minimize the temptation. 

• laptops

Most professors have a clear policy on laptops. If they're allowed, try not to drift off topic while using them; some professors will walk around the room in order to get a view of your laptop.

If laptops aren't allowed, they're really not allowed. Don't bring them. 

• late/leaving

If you are entering late or leaving early, try to do so respectfully. If you know in advance, send the professor an email before the lecture to apologize and explain. If it's just a case of sleeping in, enter the room quietly and accept the fact that you may have to settle for a seat in the back. If you need to interrupt other students' view or the position of the lecturer to get when you need to be, wait until a natural pause. 

For important reasons to leave, pack your bag quickly and quietly. Often it's easier to dump everything in your bag and reorganize outside of the lecture hall rather than deal with the dirty looks from students trying to take notes.

Unlike high school, it's normal that you have other commitments and most college classes don't take attendance. There's no need to feel terrible for a few late entries or early leavings so long as you are considerate of others. Most likely a professor won't remember the one time a student shows up late so long as there wasn't a scene. Don't sweat it. Just be polite.

• chatting

Whisper. To. The. Person. Next. To. You.

Stop talking when lecture starts. There's nothing that professors hate more than not being able to start their lecture on time because of people obliviously chatting. Take note of the time and quiet down when lecture is supposed to start; it's for your own good to make sure that the prof gets through all the material. I've had a few professors who have put material that wasn't covered in lecture on exams because they blamed chatty Cathys for not making it through the information in class. Don't be that kid.

Do not yell to the person across the room. Don't pass notes. Don't constantly text. These are the other things that professors notice.


If you have questions, you are super welcome to comment so that we can share our experiences and advice.

Classroom Etiquette

One of the most important things for college is the new code of etiquette for college lectures. It's very different from high school but still important for making sure that your professor has a good opinion of you.

Here's my guide to lectures and college classes, how you should behave in lecture. The advice will go through cellphones, bathroom breaks, sleeping and more.

Vacation sleeping insights

It's amazing how different MIT students approach their long vacations. A lot of my friends spend most of their vacation sleeping. We travelled all the way to Florida, to see sights and enjoy the warm weather. But most of the day was spent sleeping in. To my amusement, there was great anger at my attempts to have an early start so that we could see more of south Florida. I'm really not exaggerating: Waking up at 2pm and going to sleep at 10pm, sometimes with naps in between.

Why do these kids do this? What reasonable explanation could there be for sleeping away a vacation?





The desire to sleep on vacation is great since most of the school year is spent sleep deprived.

During the school week, most students are sleep deprived not just because of course work, but also by choice. Their logic is that with 24 hours a day, there's however long school work takes and 5 hours of fun. The time that's left over is for sleep. Often a 16 hour work day with 5 fun-hours leaves 4 hours for sleep.

Just 4 hours for sleep.

You might think that I'm exaggerating, but there really most students self report 4-6 hours of sleep a day.

You might be catching the logical paradox that I saw.

If their priority is staying awake for fun, why do these kids spend their vacation sleeping?

To me this makes a lot of sense with a slightly closer look. Your body needs 6-9 hours of sleep, whether you try to convince yourself otherwise or not. The body is crying out for sleep.

For long vacations, there's no work hours. It's just 24 hours of "fun". And sleeping is amazingly fun when your body is crying out for it. So amazing, that a disproportionate time is spent sleeping, trying to catch up on all the hours missed during the semester. An impossible task.

The moral: Work sleep into your schedule. 8-9 hours are the ideal for the college age group. If you don't you may spend your Florida vacation napping.

Vacation sleeping insights

It's amazing how different MIT students approach their long vacations. A lot of my friends spend most of their vacation sleeping. We travelled all the way to Florida, to see sights and enjoy the warm weather. But most of the day was spent sleeping in. To my amusement, there was great anger at my attempts to have an early start so that we could see more of south Florida. I'm really not exaggerating: Waking up at 2pm and going to sleep at 10pm, sometimes with naps in between.

Why do these kids do this? What reasonable explanation could there be for sleeping away a vacation?

Over-committing: Classes, Clubs, Career

There's a big shift transitioning from high school to college. You have a lot more independence to pursue what you want when you want but more responsibility follows. Classes in high school were really easy for me; I could skate through lectures and rely on the repetitive style of teaching if I wanted to zone out for a day.

College is not like this.
At all.

The work load is more intense, especially since professors aren't holding your hand through the material. It's up to you to keep up with work and ask for help when you need it. Despite this, a lot of students coming into college try to replicate high school, signing up for tons of clubs and activities. While it's good to have things outside of lecture, the priority of a college student is their classes, in my honest opinion. Well, it's not just my opinion: it's the opinion of the faculty and advisors.

Here's some advice for the times when you've overcommitted in your classes, clubs, and career.

Classes

Coming into college, it's easy to think that classes will be like high school. A lot of high school advisors don't know what you can handle so you may be used to ignoring warnings of too much course work. Working as an Associate Advisor with freshman advising, I see lots of students think that they can handle five challenging technical classes while doing a varsity sport and who knows what else. Most of these students come back, a little bit humbled, hoping to drop their fifth class and transfer into a slower paced class.

My first suggestion would be to listen to your freshman advisor. Challenge yourself but don't overload on your first semester. If certain classes are pre requisites, it's for good reason; don't try to skip around. If the advisor suggests your course load is too much, consider them seriously. Weight what your advisors says with the advice of upperclassmen who have taken the class.

If you've signed up for too many classes, speak to each professor. Ask how you're doing in their class and ask what you can do to keep up with the work from now on. Make sure to email the TA, asking about what tutoring is available and their office hours. Your school may have a Writing Center or Tutoring Office that you can go to for extra help.

Finally, meet with your advisor, reporting back what each professor has said and how you feel about your work load.

If you need to, drop a class. There's no shame in letting go of something that you aren't enjoying or doing well in. Make sure you keep track of drop date and the necessary paperwork.

Extra Curricular and Clubs

If you've signed up for too many extra curricular responsibilities, there's no shame in stepping back. Speak honestly with your club about why you need to re-focus on your school work. Make clear that you want to stay involved with the club, but will be less active until your work is better in hand.

Don't just disappear! Talk to the club, even if it's just an email or a stop by at the next meeting. Having been on both sides of this, I can say that it hurts to worry about a club member who hasn't been seen in a long time and to scramble to take over their responsibility.  It also hurts to feel that you can't come back to the club because there was no clean break or explanation for leaving in the first place.

If you can't drop the commitment, ask another club member to split the work with you. Work something out to share the work, delegating parts of the project to others.

Plan out when things need to get done, organizing your time.

Career

If you're paying your way through college, you may not be able to cut down your work hours. I totally understand that; I'm paying my own way with the generous help of scholarships. But what you can do is make sure that your work is either applicable to your major or allows you to do course work.

For example, I am a desk worker at my dorm. I can do a lot of my school work while sitting at desk, letting people in and out of the building. The pay is decent for the amount of double tasking I can do.

If you are just working for experience or extra spending money, remember that your course work is the priority. Plan out the number of hours you can do in the week. Some labs will let you come in on the weekends so if that works well with your class schedule take advantage of it.

Look at your syllabus at the start of the year and make sure to get time off for your exams. This might sound silly but you may have an evening shift that conflicts with a late evening exam time.

Wrap Up

The moral of the story is that coursework if the main priority of a student. Everyone's heard the story of a wise professor filling a jar with golf balls and then pouring in the small bits of sand to completely fill in the jar.

Block in the class work and let classes, clubs, and career work follow in to fill in your free time. Organize your time and don't sign up for things you can't follow through on.

I hope that this advice helps you. If you  have any suggestions that you want to share comment below!

Over-committing: Classes, Clubs, Career

There's a big shift transitioning from high school to college. You have a lot more independence to pursue what you want when you want but more responsibility follows. Classes in high school were really easy for me; I could skate through lectures and rely on the repetitive style of teaching if I wanted to zone out for a day.

College is not like this.
At all.

The work load is more intense, especially since professors aren't holding your hand through the material. It's up to you to keep up with work and ask for help when you need it. Despite this, a lot of students coming into college try to replicate high school, signing up for tons of clubs and activities. While it's good to have things outside of lecture, the priority of a college student is their classes, in my honest opinion. Well, it's not just my opinion: it's the opinion of the faculty and advisors.

Here's some advice for the times when you've overcommitted in your classes, clubs, and career.

Morning routine: Breakfast

Morning routine is so hard to establish and so easy to break. I was raised to always have breakfast in the morning. I wasn't spoiled enough to have a home cooked breakfast laid in front of me, but I wasn't living the anime trope of toast in the mouth either.

Going to college has definitely made me realize how important breakfast and a good morning routine is.
I've seen lot of students sitting in morning lecture, some barely awake, others with grumbly tummies, and even the occasional few who have forgotten their necessary laptop or pset. I'm not too shamed to admit but after an all nighter, I've been that person too. Worse, if I don't follow my routine then I end up as the person who forgot their pset, makes a ruckus while entering the lecture hall late, and has a growling stomach the whole lecture long.





The point is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know it's hard to fit in time for breakfast, so I'll share my quick fixes. Sometimes I do just one; on good days I do a

Carb

• Banana
• Granola
• Cereal
• Microwave Oatmeal
• Microwave Grits
• Croissants
• Apples
• Granola/Breakfast bar

Protein

• Scrambled Egg
• Deli-sliced Turkey/Ham
• Protein Bar
• Peanut Butter
• Whole Milk Yogurt
• Sausage

Carb & Protein

• Toast and Jam
• Bread and Nutella
• Sandwich
• Croissants with Ham/Egg
• Any carb + Grab and go packaged yogurt
• Any carb + protein powder

Drink water! A glass of water right when wake up and head out- it is almost as good as coffee, I swear to you.

Morning routine: Breakfast

Morning routine is so hard to establish and so easy to break. I was raised to always have breakfast in the morning. I wasn't spoiled enough to have a home cooked breakfast laid in front of me, but I wasn't living the anime trope of toast in the mouth either.

Going to college has definitely made me realize how important breakfast and a good morning routine is.
I've seen lot of students sitting in morning lecture, some barely awake, others with grumbly tummies, and even the occasional few who have forgotten their necessary laptop or pset. I'm not too shamed to admit but after an all nighter, I've been that person too. Worse, if I don't follow my routine then I end up as the person who forgot their pset, makes a ruckus while entering the lecture hall late, and has a growling stomach the whole lecture long.