Planner Organization 101: The Basics

With the beginning of a new year, I know I am not alone in saying that I have every intention of making this new semester (my last!), the best one yet. I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but this year I am going to continue working on one of my goals I seemed to struggle with last semester: staying organized. It may have been due to the fact that the semester prior, I was abroad, living the European academic lifestyle! Not to say that it was easy by any means, but let’s just say I didn’t even use a planner to keep track of my classes or assignments, which is something I had never done before. So, last semester was a rough one and my organizational skills were extremely lacking to say the least.

However, I want to put in the work and change that this time around. Just because I am graduating in May doesn’t mean I should start adopting “senioritis” now, no way. So, I had some time this weekend before classes to brush up on those organizational skills I had stored deep in my brain way long ago in hopes that it not only helps me, but you as well!

When it comes to getting organized, the best way I can do that personally is with the use of a planner. These days, planners are somewhat of an investment, as they can be quite costly. I thought about buying one of those fancy planners, but I ended up finding a functional one at Target for $10. I call that a success if you ask me. It really doesn’t matter what kind of planner you buy, but really how you use it that matters in the long run.

I found a really good deal on this planner at Target!

When you finally have your planner in front of you and you have gotten the feel for the style and how it’s set up, you can start inputting dates off the top of your head you know about, even if they are tentative like: upcoming birthdays, meetings, practices, etc. If later on you have to cross some things out and change them, that’s okay. I can guarantee you no one’s planner is perfect, because chances are, things change all the time, especially with our schedules right?

Next, plan your upcoming week. I personally like to plan week by week because it is less overwhelming. I know that when professor’s pass out their syllabus, most of the time they give you all of the dates, but are you really going to write out the homework for each day for the whole semester? That makes my head hurt just thinking about it! I suggest just putting down any major assignments like essays, research papers, group projects, final exams, etc.

When I plan my week, I like to keep things organized in my planner by using a color coded system, with 4 sections max that are relevant to me personally like: homework, sorority information, RA responsibilities, and “other” for things like working out, skyping a friend, etc. Seeing everything broken down into different sections keeps me on track and makes me feel a lot more at ease once something is checked off and completed.

If your planner has a section for other “Notes,” that is also a place that you can really utilize by using post-it notes! I always keep a stash in my backpack in case I run out of room when writing down a homework assignment and I need to remember to do something.

Whether you are new to the “planner” or not, I hope this is useful for you in some way – thanks for reading!

So You Want to Come to Hope

While lying in my bed over Christmas break I began getting all sorts of notifications from the Hope College admitted student’s Facebook group. This is a group that prospective students for the following academic year are able to access once they’ve received their acceptance letter.

I was instantly brought back to my days as an avid pre-college Facebook group user. First you peruse what everyone else has been posting and asking. You write and rewrite an introduction for yourself five times before deleting it and starting over again. You enthusiastically comment on someone’s post who shares the same hobbies as you, watches the same Netflix series as you, or is from a town nearby your own.

After much reflection, I’ve decided that this feeling is somewhat universal to incoming college students. I still feel somewhat excited myself when I read the posts on the page. However, there are often misconceptions that I believe need to be addressed. These are topics that aren’t always addressed in a Facebook group.

Here are a few that I’ve come up with. Be aware that these are not true to everyone’s thought process, but they likely may be to a lot of students. I’m just here to help out.

You don’t need to be decided on your major.

There’s nothing worse than reading through the posts and seeing that everybody and their mother knows what they’re going to be studying for the next four years of their life. I’ll let you in on a little secret: most of these people will change their minds. That’s right. So get ready to explore, friends! Hope is an awesome place to do so.

Hope College is not camp.

Clarification: Hope is a place of learning that sometimes feels like camp. Before I came to Hope, this place seemed like a June through July dream. There’s worship every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Students can be seen lounging about the Pine Grove in their hammocks when it’s nice out. We even have an Outdoor Adventure Club. Not to mention living in dorms for the first two years of your college experience adds to the camp-like feel. Let’s not forget about our education, whiles still having good, summer-style fun. Living super close to the beach is awesome, but bringing your bio textbook along is even cooler.

Professors aren’t scary.

They’re absolutely not out to get you. In the movies, professors are portrayed as cold, tricky people who want to make you look bad in class. That’s not the case, especially at Hope. Our professors truly care about their students’ well being and success.

Phelps isn’t as bad as people say it is.

Most of the time. I still tell my friends this. While they’re complaining about their grilled chicken and fresh vegetables, other campuses are eating pizza and chicken nuggets for every meal. (Fine, we have that stuff too, but we definitely have better options than some current students make it sound like we do.)

A major doesn’t equal a profession.

Unless you’re going into nursing, pre-med, education, social work, or another pre-professional program, you’re major does not define what you do for the rest of your life. I’m an English major, and there are about eight branches of careers that I can go into, with a plethora of jobs located under each branch. The same thing goes for someone majoring in Biology, Business, French, etc. Try not to let the idea of a major get into your head to much. You’re here to learn skills and a degree that will allow you to be successful in the future, no matter what you end up doing.

That’s all I’ve got for right now. Take each of them with a bit of consideration, but not so much that you’re bogged down by anything I’ve written. The college experience is different for everyone, and that’s pretty special.

Posing by the Anchor at Hope — My friend Katie and I goofing around at the Anchor 🙂

I hope everyone had a relaxing winter break and is settling back into the school/work routine wherever you are.

Thanks for reading,

Brooke

A New Season in Ireland

I’m here, I’m here, I’m here, Readers! It’s been a long time coming and it’s a bit surreal, but I’ve finally made it across the pond and into this crazy adventure in Dublin, Ireland. Now, I could talk about my first reactions to Ireland (which were SO positive) or what I think of their scones (AMAZING) but instead I want to talk about something else: dependence.

Honestly, I’ve always thought I was a rather independent person, especially at Hope. There is always someone I know in class or in the different activities I’m involved in, so I always feel like I can go where I please and still be my own person.

HA. Whatever feelings of independence I felt a Hope evaporated when I got to the Toronto Airport in Canada to fly out to Ireland just a few days ago. As I entered into this monster of an airport, I realized just how dependent I really was. At that moment, I was dependent on my parents to get me to the right place (even though they had no idea where they were going either). Getting onto my flight, I saw that I had no control over whether I was going to get to Ireland safely – I was dependent on the pilot.

Finally, the biggest dependency I felt when arriving in Ireland was the dependency on everyone in the whole country to get me to where I was supposed to go and make my experience worthwhile. That was the hardest dependency for me to swallow because there was no normal for me to grasp onto yet (there still really isn’t, what with classes not being in session yet) and I had to rely on people I didn’t even know.

With all that being said, I think an important lesson I’ve already learned while being abroad is that it’s ok to not have control over every situation. It’s okay to rely on someone else and just go with the flow of differences. A bible verse that comes to mind when thinking about this is Proverbs 3:5, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Man, oh man, have I learned to do this, especially in this new season of my life. God has plans in store for me, and it’s scary not to have control. But relying on Him is a better option than relying on my own weaknesses, and He hasn’t let me down yet.

Have a great week back to classes, Readers!

Until next time!

This was the mural I saw when I realized how dependent I really was. God was obviously telling me not to be too scared about dependency. — This was the mural I saw when I realized how dependent I really was. God was obviously telling me not to be too worried about being dependent.

30,000 Feet

I can remember a time where, on K-Love (the Christian radio station), there was an excerpt that played over and over again comparing our problems to that of a plane ride. The excerpt explained that often times we get caught up in our own perspective, underneath the “clouds” of life. It isn’t until our plane breaks through the clouds, that we realize there’s a lot of God-given beauty above, all around, and frankly all throughout our seemingly dreary situation.

As I write this from my window seat aboard Southwest Airlines flight 369 to Chicago Midway, I know there are a few people in a season of life that seems, well dreadful. On the contrary, I know there are those who are standing on a mountain top, in a season of favor. Whether you’re in a valley, on a mountain, or somewhere in between, know that there’s a much bigger and brighter reality “above the clouds.”

As always, I have a story. For those who know me, I tend to be a forgetful individual. From forgetting birthdays, names, to even my own responsibilities for a specific day; it shows up everywhere in my life. Today things were going smoothly. I somehow managed to fit all of my belongings into two suitcases, (credit to Abby for that), I was going to be on time for my 2:40 flight, (a rarity for me, and my family for that matter), and I was getting excited to see my friends back at school. After some unexpected traffic, weather, and what seemed like a mile long security line, I found myself rushing to gate A1 to make my flight. Fortunately for me, the flight had been delayed half an hour and I was more than on time. Everything was great.

As I settled down against the wall awaiting to board I heard an all too familiar women’s voice over the airport’s intercom. “To the young man who had the grey Nike jacket at the alternate security check point, you left it here, it’s at the desk.” It was Tina, the TSA agent who I had talked to only a few minutes before. Now, here I was 10 minutes before boarding time, only a shuttle and a few escalators away from security. A lot of people would say no jacket is worth sprinting through the airport to retrieve. However, I am not like a lot of people. In my mind was it worth it? Definitely.

Off I went at a full on sprint wearing a winter jacket like parka, half-carrying-half-dragging my overstuffed backpack, sweating as if I had just reached mile 25 of a marathon. Dodging people, luggage taxis, and strollers wasn’t sure if I could make it. I jumped on the next shuttle back towards security, and hurried out to meet my final obstacle: two flights of down-going escalators. Upon my last, not so graceful step a top the escalator, I was greeted by my new friend Tina, clutching my grey Nike hoodie. “You must really like this hoodie, kid” She exclaimed in between giggles. I thanked her, and began my jog back to gate A1. I arrived drenched in sweat, only to learn that my flight would not begin boarding for another fifteen minutes. Oh the joy of airports.

Nonetheless, here I am, enjoying my watered down Coca-Cola 10,000 feet somewhere above Lake Michigan, grey Nike sweatshirt tucked safely under my seat. Looking out of my window, I’m reminded that the God of the universe is still at work, this time in the form of a sunset. As if looking directly at me in my goofy, somewhat stressful situation saying, “Be still and know I am God.” I hear ya loud and clear big man.

So wherever you’re at: On a mountain, in a valley, heading back to school, wondering what you’re going to do without the kids at home now that the holidays are over, or sprinting through Pittsburgh International Airport, be still and know, that He is God. And He chose you.

If nothing more, I hope you can get a laugh out of my life experiences. To everyone headed back to Hope, safe travels. We’ll see you soon!

With Love,
Steve

Starting “Spring” Semester

A few days ago, I received an email from the professor of one of the classes I’ll be starting tomorrow for the new semester. In it, he mentioned the optimism present as we refer to the second half of the school year as “spring semester.” In Holland, Michigan, it feels like spring usually starts during the last week of classes at the end of April, but we peer through the snow at the beginning of January and the windy grayness of the earth and sky during February and the muddy slush of March and in April we long for the tulips to blossom just in time for the festival named after them. We call this time from January to the first days of May “spring semester” because we know that spring will someday come, and we color the entirety of the semester in the hope and waiting for the day we see the tip tops of the blades of grass as they begin to break through the snow that lost its wonder and freshness months ago.

Trees — If you look closely, you can see a line of snow stuck to the front side of many of these trees. This is one of the beautiful parts of the beginning of winter (which I love!).

For me, this particular spring semester is marked by the knowledge that it is the beginning of a year of lasts, as I graduate this December. My last Spring Fling, my last time singing at the Gathering, my last Dance Marathon, and even my last required religion classes all loom before me, serving as reminders not to take this time for granted. And yet, here I sit, the day before classes, holed up in my house trying to avoid enduring walking or driving in the cold, snowy ice land outside the windows of my cottage. I have spent much of the last month talking and thinking about what my life may be like in less than a year, after I have graduated from Hope and potentially moved states away to a job or a new school with new people and new experiences and new things to love. It seems that I am always looking forward, although I know that there is so much more that I should be paying attention to in the present.

This forward-thinking mindset drives much of the way I live my life; while it is not necessarily a bad thing, I know that I have missed out on some things because I was too busy worrying about whatever I had to do next, too worried about the next morning’s 5:45 a.m. wake up call to prepare for the coming tasks, or too consumed by a desire to sit alone and revel in my selfishness “for once” than to do whatever my friends or family wanted to do. I am a type A personality, a planner, a (dare I say it) responsibility junkie. It seems I will never stop looking forward, and I think in some ways that is okay, but in other ways, I know that this year of my life is one that I cannot let slip away without taking advantage of the opportunities that life and Hope and the Lord provide to me.

While I am not ignorant of the anticipatory tendencies that have engrained themselves into my lifestyle, I am hopeful that the next eleven months will be spent in ways that will cause me to remember them with the sentiment that I would not have rather spent them any differently. As we start the semester with a collective hopeful optimism for the advent of spring, I am beginning it with a desire to spend it in ways that make the most of the opportunities and circumstances with which the Lord has blessed me. I pray that, wherever you are in life, you may find yourself electing to spend this season living in this way as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please keep up with me on Twitter (@hopekathryn17), Instagram (@kathrynekrieger), or send me an email at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu!

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

— Luke 6:38 (NLT)

Lollipop Moments and Little Shoutouts

Well, readers, I just found a spot at the Library and have settled in for a long night. Tomorrow I go home, and I’m not sure I can process leaving Hope yet with the many things I have to do yet! (a.k.a. lots and LOTS of packing)

As I’m sitting here studying, I’m thinking about one thing: next semester when I study abroad in Ireland I won’t see some of the people on Hope’s campus ever again. Wow! This makes me so sad and regretful that I didn’t get to know these people more while I had the chance. Admittedly, it’s not characteristic for me to be so sentimental about missing people I barely know, but if you truly think about it, those people you pass on the sidewalk everyday are people you’ve done life with for the past semester, whether you’ve noticed it or not.

Truthfully, you’ve all probably influenced these people in some way or another, and that has me thinking about a TED talk that I watched once. Take a gander:

Pretty cool, right? Pretty crazy, too. The fact that we influence people in unexpected ways is so important to hear and so important to know about ourselves.

So here’s what I’m going to do, readers: I’m going to give little shoutouts to the people I don’t explicitly know that have really, truly influenced me in big ways this semester. Even if they don’t end up seeing this, I’m glad you’re reading it so that you know that you can influence someone in small ways too, just by being yourself. Here it goes.

To the guy that sits behind me in my 12 p.m. Religion class, thank you for being genuine and involved in every class. You are full of valuable information and have taught me that to be respectful is to be present in conversation. You’ve inspired me to use my voice and be authentic with those around me. Thank you.

To the people who sit in front of me at Chapel, specifically the girl in the second row, thank you for shamelessly raising your hands in worship. You taught me to worship God shamelessly and with joy. You are an extraordinary person, and I see God clearer because of you. Thank you.

To my English professors that simply asked me “What grade do you think you deserve?” thank you for holding me accountable for my performance in your class, and thank you for hearing my ideas out, even when they were crazy and wild. Thank you for telling me what I wrote and thought was important.

Lastly, thank you to each and every one of you that reads this blog. You’ve influenced me in more ways than you know. Your support and encouragement are inspiring and truly influential in my time here at Hope.

Keep being yourselves, readers, and know that somewhere, at some point in your life, you’ve influenced someone.

Look out for more blogs next semester that’ll come your way straight from Ireland, and enjoy the rest of this beautiful Christmas season!

Until next semester!

Reflections on Another Semester Past

The semester isn’t entirely over – I still have three more finals to take (Curse you, finals schedule, for making me have two finals on Friday). Yet it pretty much is done, and with the minimal time that I have not spent studying, I’ve been sitting around and thinking about how much has changed since I was an itty-bitty freshman, and even how different I am than when I arrived earlier this year in August.

[I’ve added a ton of links to this post. Most of them are links to my own prior blog posts in which I discussed something I mention here, others are links to Hope pages for more information on an organization or program!]

My semester began very positively. I was an Orientation leader, and saw it as a great opportunity to try to make our group of freshmen feel welcome and at home. I’d say that it helped me kickstart a pretty good year.

I went into classes, and have done pretty well in them. I’ve strengthened relationships with people I knew before, and have made new ones as well. I went to, most likely, every SAC event held, reunited with the beautiful women in my bible study, and went apple AND pumpkin picking, among other things.

I came into this year thinking I wanted to continue with the education program, but toward the end of the semester I decided that it wasn’t for me. I wrote a novel in November, got accepted to the Vienna study-abroad program for this May, got offered to do research in June, got a new job, and now I’m just ready to go home.

But if I were to reflect on one major change in my life, despite everything that has happened semester, it would be the change in my faith. All of my life I have gone to church and been a Christian, but I was never challenged or pushed forward in my faith. Freshman year, I attended Chapel occasionally and only went to the Gathering a couple of times the entire year. This year, I decided to be intentional with my faith, and that choice has caused me to grow a massive amount in this area of my life. I’ve kept a journal to take notes in during Chapel and the Gathering, which has really helped.

I’m not done growing in my faith, not nearly to that point (And I wonder, do we ever reach that point?), but I’m much more satisfied with my relationship with God this semester than I have been all of my life. I owe that to Hope’s lovely Campus Ministries, and the freedom to have the choice in my religious practices here at Hope. Without the ability to decide for myself that my faith was something I wanted to pursue more deeply, I don’t think I would have come as far.

A lot has happened this semester. I’m sure a lot will happen next semester as well. All I know is that we keep on keeping on here at Hope; That train, blaring it’s horn outside your window, is still going, even in the dead of the night, at two in the morning when all you want is a little bit of decent shut-eye. Next semester, and the four more semesters after that, will be the same way.

Here’s a slideshow of some photos from my semester:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’m hoping to write more blog posts over break while I’m at home, but if things get busy or I forget, then I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and/or Happy Holidays.

Thanks for reading,

Brooke

St. Nicholas Day in the Czech Republic

December 5 is the day that children in the Czech Republic are nervous, excited and scared. Like in Netherlands, the tradition in the Czech Republic is formed from three major figures, Svatý Mikuláš (St. Nicholas), Čert (Devil) and Anděl (Angel).

St. Nicholas, Angel and Devil are the main figures of tradition in the Czech Republic, which takes a place on December 5.

On December 5, the trio of Svatý Mikuláš, Čert, and Anděl are going from house to house and they meet with children. When they enter the house, the family gathers with them. The parents prepare a list of good and bad deeds the children have done over the past year, which they read to Svatý Mikuláš.

When the parents finish reading the list, Svatý Mikuláš, Čert and Anděl talk to each other. The trio is facing a decision. If the child behaved well, based of the parents’ list, then Svatý Mikuláš gives the children candy. On the other side, if the children behaved badly, Svatý Mikuláš gives the children a coal or in the worst case, the devil “takes away” the children.

After the trio decides, Svatý Mikuláš asks the children if the deeds that his/her parents listed are truth. After the children explains oneself, Svatý Mikuláš says something like; “Even you have done bad things, you are a good children” or “You are a good children, but when I will come next year, I hope that I will not hear that you have done this bad thing”. Then Svatý Mikuláš asks the children to sing a song or recite a poem, so the children deserves the candy. When the child is done with the song or poem, Svatý Mikluláš leaves the house togehter with Anděl and Čert. Usually, Svatý Mikuláš as a good bey says: “Don’t do this next time or my friend Devil will take you to hell”. (He says it in very nice way, not scary). The children promises and the trio counties next door with the same questions.

How Do You Ace Final Exams?

Final exams are just around the corner, which bring a lot of stress and studying. Every student prepares for the exams and deals with a stress differently, but what does the science say?

We all know the basics like eat healthy, take a break during studying and have a lot of sleep at night, but science suggest much more than just that.

Say Om!

When students look at test the first time, a lot of them “freak out.” In the scientific way it means that the emotional thinking overrules or takes over the rational thinking, which one needs in order to perform well. “Research suggests meditation can reduce anxiety and boost attention spam.” So before the test or when one opens the test, take a deep breath, say om and wait until the rational thinking comes back.

The polar bears are illustrating how to relax.

Eat omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Try to eat omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; it reduces the anxiety during the test, which helps to a stronger performance. One can find omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid in some types fish, nuts or olive oil.

Certain fish are one of the foods where is omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

When you read, be loud!

Everyone is used to reading quietly, but if one reads loud it kills two flies with one rock. Because reading the material out loud helps the brain store the information in two ways: visual and auditory. This makes studying more effective and productive.

Write, Write, Write and Write.

As as second language speaker, I strongly agree with this. There is not a better way to learn a new vocabulary then write the word multiple times on the paper, while saying up loud. In regards of studying, “Research suggests we store information more securely when we write it out by hand than when we type it.” This does not mean to rewrite every single note, but to rewrite the most important of ideas and points.

Are you sleepy? Well, study.

Before you go to bed, take 10-15 minutes to review the material. Do not actually work in bed, like calculations, because that would make falling a sleep even harder. But if one reviews the material right before going to bed, brain strengthens new memories over the sleep, which is one of the benefit of good night sleep.

Studying before going to bed help to embrace to knowledge.

Citations:

Lebowitz, Shana. “22 Science-Backed Study Tips to Ace a Test.” Greatist. Greatist, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

#JustPhelpsScholarsThings: The Research Project

Phelps Scholars Research Presentations — There were more people than I expected.

This is the last post I will be doing for the #JustPhelpsScholarsThings since last Friday (December 4) was the last event: the Phelps Scholars Research Presentations. It is essentially a symposium held in the Maas Auditorium in which students present the research posters they’ve been working on throughout the semester that highlights a current, global issue, their analysis of it, and a suggested plan of action against it.

According to Professor Vega, here are a few of the comments our advisors and professors were told over the course of the evening:

“Being here was the best part of my day.”
“Great posters!”
“It was neat to see such a variety of topics.”
“Passionate and informed students.”
“Outstanding and so creative!”
“I was super impressed with their communication style.”

For us, the students, it was tiring, exhilarating, and enlightening. These are just a few of the topics we researched:

Students presenting project — My partners’ and my presentation on the suicide rate gap between men and women

“We focused on how nations’ gender stereotypes and expectations of masculinity cause men suicide rates to be significantly higher than female suicide rates. This is because in cultures where men are expected to take control of their families, businesses, and lives and where it is not socially acceptable to express sadness or depression, men often turn to suicide. We presented the statistics and studied how this is prevalent in certain countries such as Japan, South Korea, Scotland, South Africa, and Guyana.” – Frina Redoloza, Ryann Felton, and Surrey Valdez

Cyberbullying Research — There was almost no time for the presenters to look around because people came to ask questions one after the other

“Our project was about the psychological impact of cyberbullying on youth (like middle school and high school) around the world. Cyberbullying can cause symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Rates of cyberbullying are directly related to rates of internet access, so as technology spreads, it is becoming a serious global problem.” – Julia Fulton, Leonel Hernandez and Jin Cheng Yang

Preventing Sex Trafficking — Their research project was actually inspired by a book we read in class called “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

“We researched how we can help to actively prevent sex trafficking, inspired from “Half The Sky.” Throughout the research, it became evident that the first step might not even be targeting trafficking itself, but gender discriminations and social norms that harm women. Unfortunately, there is so much more than needs to be done before the trafficking industry can really be struck with force.” – Catherine Dustrude, Isayah Ramirez, and Brittany Alarcon

Here are more pictures of the event.

Share this:

You don’t need to be decided on your major.

Hope College is not camp.

Professors aren’t scary.

Phelps isn’t as bad as people say it is.

A major doesn’t equal a profession.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Say Om!

Eat omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

When you read, be loud!

Write, Write, Write and Write.

Are you sleepy? Well, study.

Share this:

Share this: