Notes From a Cowgirl

In all honesty, I sailed through school until college. I understood things and got great grades with very, very minimal effort. The initial pain came from Intro to Ethics my first semester. I didn’t understand how college could be so different, but it was. I didn’t know how to study because I only studied a little bit in my last two years of high school, and basically none before that. Intro to Ethics taught me to explain my thoughts by using various philosophers’ ethical systems. I hated the class, but realize it did good things for me. We had to read, talk, and write about uncomfortable scenarios three days a week for 14 weeks. When I first started college, I only had a vague idea of what major I wanted. So, I spent two years taking general education and exploratory courses. In my second semester, I took three weeks of biology. It only lasted three weeks because I couldn’t stand feeling dumb and crying because nothing made sense. Now, in my fourth year of college, ...

As you know, I’m a college student. You probably also know that college can be hard work. Finals were last week so this morning I checked to see if my grades had been posted online. Seeing my grades made me realize that my effort really WAS worth it! I had some difficult work this semester but I was persistent and ended up having the highest grades of my college career.  A couple weeks ago, just before finals, I was starting to feel the stress of the end of the semester. I realized that I couldn't do everything at once and had to focus on getting one thing  done at a time. Now that the fall semester is over, I've been having a great time. I've been riding my horses… baking… (Try this delicious recipe for  Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies ! You'll be glad you did!) walking with my dog, Missy… and even taking some fun pictures of frost!    I hope you, too, can find some relaxation at Christmastime!  ...

I can’t accomplish everything today. In fact, most days I can’t do everything that I really should do. We all have busy schedules, some busier than others. But to us, our own schedule usually seems to be the worst. I have homework to do and tests to study for, you know, the usual college routine. In addition to that, I have animals to take care of, errands to run, and one more meal to eat.  I won’t be able to finish everything today but I will be able to finish some things and start several others. Often times, getting started is the hardest part. Starting something that I know will be challenging and take a long time is a struggle of mine. So, start small. I realized that committing to 10 minutes of half-heartedly studying psychology terms is better than no studying at all. Once you start, doing more doesn't hurt as bad as you thought it would. Today I know I can study. I have made time and will continue to make time for it. I know I can do this. ...