Breaks are Necessary

It’s okay to take breaks.

There are times that you’re going to just want to pack up and leave and really that’s okay. College is hard, it’s nothing like High School, well in most aspects there are times that it still is.

There are some teachers who even tell you to take a mental health day.

I currently have a teacher that gives us a 5 minute texting break during class, and really it helps because we students hardly ever look at our phones in that class anymore because of the 5 minute texting break.

Another situation, I recently got into an argument with one of my roommates who I have had issues with since fall term. I have been holding back a lot when it comes things they do around the apartment that just irk me a little. I would just ignore it and it would just sit in the back of my mind. I was in the wrong because I was annoyed this weekend because I needed to do laundry and the washer was taken and there was a note on the washer that read “Don’t move my laundry”. The washer and dryer had been taken every time I went to go and do my laundry and I made an assumption that it was this roommate. So I was talking to my mom on the phone about how annoyed I was with the note because this roommate had moved my laundry before. She overheard and came and confronted me. We ended up fighting and she called me a “two-faced liar”. I was fed up and we started yelling at each other. This weekend I have a five day weekend (thank you Memorial Day!) and I am going down to Utah Thursday after my class and I won’t be coming back until Monday night.

It’s okay to take breaks.

It’s okay to want to pack up and leave.

It’s okay to take a mental health day every once in a while.

It’s necessary.

It’s Okay to be Friends with Teachers

Build Relationships with your Professors.

BYU-Idaho is lucky to have small class sizes with at the most around 40 students in the class. There are some classes that have 80+ students, but those are varied. With smaller class sizes your teachers have a better opportunity to get to know you better as a student and you get to have a relationship with those teachers.

I’ve been very lucky here at school. There are teachers here that I feel like I am able to talk to them about anything going on in my life. A few semesters ago I had a professor that had a study session for one of our exams at her house.

The thing that I love about being at a smaller university other than smaller class sizes, is that I know that my teachers care for me and want me to succeed. They want me to graduate, they want me to be successful in the world.

They give students office hours so that if they have a question outside of class or if you just need someone to talk to. They are there for you!

They want you to come and see them in their office!

It’s okay to have a friendship with your teacher. My friend has been getting homesick lately and has become friends with a couple of the professors and one of them has become like a second mom to him. There are times that he goes over to their house. Sometimes you just need that home feeling.

Building relationships with your professors will help you be successful in school.

I could use the help!

If you could take the time to fill out this simple survey that would be great. I’m trying to see the demographics behind my blog post.

https://byui.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8Dg7nOtcA4NMNLv

Internships: Start Looking Now

Find an internship as soon as you possibly can.

At BYU-Idaho an internship is required in order graduation, unless you’re an education major then all you have to worry about is student teaching.

This is something that I wish that I had known because I am currently looking for an internship and it is causing a lot more stress in my life. As I get closer and closer to graduation there is this little voice in the back of my head nagging me that I still need to find an internship.

Another thing that would’ve been nice to know is that the more internships you have the better. I switched my major from education a little over a year ago and was only told by one person that I should do more than one internship.

Finding an internship can be hard to do and you really shouldn’t procrastinate finding and doing an internship because it will cause more stress.

Find an internship as soon as you possibly can.

For more information about internships:

http://www.byui.edu/internships

To Room or Not to Room, that is the Question

Be wise when choosing who to room with.

I know that rooming with your best friend sounds like the perfect solution to who to room with in your first semester or any semester of college, but fair warning it may not turn out the way you’re imagining it.

I had a roommate who before she lived with me lived with her best friend and they were constantly fighting and arguing and she just never had fun. She would try to get a social life outside of the apartment and her roommate would get upset and throw a tantrum and then when she would stay home would ignore her and leave to go hang out with her boyfriend.

Another caution I am throwing out there is be cautious when living with family, you may end up being inconsiderate to your other roommates. I am currently rooming with two sisters and they are constantly fighting about the stupidest things. The most recent one was about how they aren’t spending enough time together, personally I think they spend a little too much time together. Here’s a little background both sisters got engaged around Christmas time. The younger sister’s fiancé then went off to a semester of school where she stayed home and worked, while this was going on the older sister was constantly hanging around her fiancé and the younger sister was feeling left out. Flash forward to right now, the younger sister is now in the same city as her fiancé and the older one isn’t and the older one was crying about how thy never spend any time together because the young one is always with her fiancé, a little hypocritical there? This was only one of the arguments that they have had and they are constantly yelling at each other making everyone else in the apartment completely uncomfortable.

Another story is my first semester I decided to live with my cousin. At first it was really fun, but after the first semester things went south when I invited a friend from back home to move into the apartment. She and my cousin clicked really well and after a couple of days I felt like I didn’t exist to them anymore. Ever since that semester I’ve never invited anyone to live in the same apartment as me I have always just done random and it has worked out for the best. There has only been one time that it didn’t work out. This semester I really love my roommate and couldn’t have asked for a better one.

So my advice for you today is to be considerate and thoughtful when it comes to choosing and picking your roommate.

Your Major, Your Choice

It’s really up to you.

This post comes with two pieces of advice from some of my friends who are also graduating and from me.

Know what you want to major in.

If you know what you want to go into then picking college courses are going to less hectic. You can get started right into your major courses and not have to worry about what classes you have to take because as soon as you have decided your major all the classes are listed for you through the school.

Now here comes my advice: it’s okay to change your mind. When I started out my freshman year I was going into English education. After dedicating three years of my life to education while I was sitting in one of my classes I realized that I just didn’t enjoy teaching anymore. After talking to my mom I realized that I had been doing what I loved behind the scenes. I was helping out my friend with promoting his concerts at a local restaurant. I decided to switch my major from education to Communications for my last year of college.

So now the choice is yours. You can choose your major before you start college or take general classes your first semester and decide what you want to go into then.

Hello world!

I’ve been pondering how I was going to start this blog. Mainly I just ended on telling you what it is about and why I decided to do it.

I chose to create this blog because I wanted to write something that would help those preparing for their first year of college. I wanted to give advice from me, other college students, and especially teachers.

I decided this because this is something I wished that I had available to me when I was getting ready for college. I had older sisters, but when I decided to go to BYU-Idaho instead of BYU they couldn’t help me. My mom went to Ricks, but the campus has changed in 30 years but, she only lasted about a year before being pulled back to Utah, and my dad went to the University of Utah. I really had no one to help me prepare.

This was my idea, I wanted to be that person that helps the “underclassmen”. I want to help YOU prepare for life at BYU-Idaho. This is such an amazing school in such a beautiful town. You really couldn’t ask for a better place to go to school.

There is a contact page in case you have questions or there is something certain that you want to know about. If you’re not a freshman in college and reading this blog contact me with advice that you have I would love the help.