Thursday, October 9, 2008

I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it

So last week for my University 101 class we had to take a test on Map Works through BYU. It asked a series of questions about how i study and act, and the goals i have, etc. Anyway, I got my results back and they point out a few interesting things, like the fact that a lot of students overestimate the grades that they will receive in school, which results in a lack of effort and getting poor grades. Also, grades reflect academic/learning ability, but that is not all. They also are a reflection of how hard i work and how much dedication i have with school and my classes. I thought that was interesting because I always think that a bad grade just means i'm stupid or something, but that's not necessarily true...In fact, I'd assume that most of the time it was just a lack of effort on my part. It also said that by starting out strong and committed I will more likely continue that way throughout the semester. This is sooo true! I find a lot of times that one of the reasons I don't work as hard as i should be is because i didn't start out that way and i feel it's too late to get into the swing of things. Plus, it's just hard when I've been so used to wasting away my time to all the sudden switch over to this really determined, hard working, planned out schedule. Understand?
It said I'm Strong in these three areas....Attends class
Records your assignments and tests in a calendarTurns in required homework assignments
And I need to work harder in these three areas...
Spends sufficient study time to earn good gradesTakes good notes in classPays attention in class
It's funny because this was a self evaluation. So I know that these are the things that I'm not doing so hot with, and yet I haven't changed them yet. But don't worry, I'm trying a lot harder on 2 of the 3 thus far. Spending time to study (More in depth, even though it's only a day or two before the test, so i guess i can work on that now), and paying attention in class. It's always been one of those things that's been really hard for me, but i feel i'm doing a bit better. :D So that's good. 
It also told me to spread out my study times and don't study for more than an hour during each period. As well as spending at least 3 hours of studying for each college exam i take. YIKES! 
so basically this is the breakdown. I'm good at the cores, i need to work on studying habits and advanced academic behaviors, and i'm really not spending enough time studying. 
Focusing on my weaknesses can help a lot. It's going to take a lot more time than i expect to get good grades. 
Hopefully i can do all these things and just take it one step at a time. It reminds me of the quote, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."