When first presented with the assignment of establishing a mentor-mentee relationship with someone, the first person that popped into my head was my older brother. My older brother and I are obviously very similar, but extremely different. He's an introvert who takes the scientific and organized approach to his problems, while I am an extrovert who acts more so based off of emotions and feelings. My older brother has lived in St. Louis for the past five years and I don't get to see him as much, so it was nice to pick up the phone and catch up with him this past weekend.
While we were on the phone, the main subject that we talked about were the highs and lows of college. Since he graduated from college in May of 2017, I was asking him for some advice on the problems I felt that I was facing in college. One of the problems that I presented to him was the idea that sometimes I felt that when I would go through low times during the school year, I couldn't always pull myself out of it in time to keep on time of my work. During these periods that I started to fall behind in my schoolwork, it would make it that much harder to motivate myself to catch up. He and I had talked about this before, however it was much more brief. As I presented my story to him, filled with details, emotions, and feelings, I finished the story by asking him for advice. I was surprised that when he answered he didn't sum up the solution with a few words, which he tends to do. Instead, he presented me with a few stories from his college experience that he said he felt were similar to the problems that I had that I was trying to make him understand. He told me about how he reacted in these situations and said I could do the same if I felt it was appropriate for the current situations. He also told me to try to focus on long-term goals instead of short-term problems and feelings. He said that once he started thinking more with that mindset during his college years, he felt that he was able to be more productive not only in his studying, but also in his relationships with people and God. We then transitioned and ended the conversation by talking about our dog's new haircut.
While we were on the phone, the main subject that we talked about were the highs and lows of college. Since he graduated from college in May of 2017, I was asking him for some advice on the problems I felt that I was facing in college. One of the problems that I presented to him was the idea that sometimes I felt that when I would go through low times during the school year, I couldn't always pull myself out of it in time to keep on time of my work. During these periods that I started to fall behind in my schoolwork, it would make it that much harder to motivate myself to catch up. He and I had talked about this before, however it was much more brief. As I presented my story to him, filled with details, emotions, and feelings, I finished the story by asking him for advice. I was surprised that when he answered he didn't sum up the solution with a few words, which he tends to do. Instead, he presented me with a few stories from his college experience that he said he felt were similar to the problems that I had that I was trying to make him understand. He told me about how he reacted in these situations and said I could do the same if I felt it was appropriate for the current situations. He also told me to try to focus on long-term goals instead of short-term problems and feelings. He said that once he started thinking more with that mindset during his college years, he felt that he was able to be more productive not only in his studying, but also in his relationships with people and God. We then transitioned and ended the conversation by talking about our dog's new haircut.
I fall behind often in classwork as well, and this can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress. Something that has helped me in dealing with and excessive workload has been to do the assignment the best way that I can, and then not worry about it anymore. It's not necessarily a passive approach to academics (which I'm sure it can seem) but worry is extra work that I personally don't need on my schedule. It has been very helpful to me to do what needs to be done, let it go to avoid worry, and trust that God has me in His hands.
ReplyDeleteSydney, I feel the same sometimes! When it gets to a point when I’m super stressed out for a long time, I just decide to not think about them at all. College can get quite stressful sometimes :) I definitely think it’s helpful to talk with someone who has similar experiences and can share their stories with you.
ReplyDelete