Mariann Lumsargis
The Paw Print
“It’s all Harry Potter’s fault,” she said, in an upset whine. “I tried so hard to study for the test, but my roommate had Harry Potter on and you know it’s my favorite movie. I tried so hard and now I’m going to fail. I told the professor, but he wouldn’t do anything.” It was a pathetic scene, but I couldn’t help laughing. This classmate had just hit upon the misfortunes of many of my peers. When most high school students think of college, they think of another experience like high school. Unfortunately, college is a bit different. High school is like a slingshot. Most high school students are afraid of their uncertain future, and in most cases, are eager to leave their home. So when they shoot off from everything they know into the unknown, they often smash into the cement wall presented by college. They fall to pieces and don’t even know why. It is commonly blamed on lack of talent, money, or professors while generally the problem is none of these things. There are, however, a few rules any average-intelligence student can learn from their straight A peers.
First, thou shalt live in a place where focus and sleep are possible. Most people think that the key to success is iron self-control. In my opinion, this is completely untrue. The trick to college and life is not to have incredible self-discipline (though that would be useful), but tricking our poor self-control into optimum performance. This is done, in part, by removing negative distractions like parties, noisy roommates, and films like Harry Potter, or anything else that may serve as a distraction. Do not weaken your already frail work ethic by making hard work even more difficult.
Another law laid down by those successful students is thou shalt go to class all the time and not be late. Even if the class only teaches what is already in the textbook, it is a good idea to attend class. Oftentimes the professor will more precisely explain what the tests will cover. Look at it this way; you just spent a thousand dollars on this class. You might as well use it, having paid so much for it.
The third law is thou shalt do thy homework on time, and if thou can, thou shalt do it ahead of time. Thou should always stay ahead, so thou shalt never fall behind. By following this rule, you will always have enough time for study, even if you have a job. In truth, there is no way you will have enough time by the end of your semester and day to do everything. The only way to do all the work required to succeed, is to do as much of it as possible ahead of time. This is one of the keys that separates A and B students from C, D, and F students.
The fourth proclamation is thou shalt never put off thy work, saying thou art excellent at BS-ing for essays and tests, for this is the surest path to poor grades. Instead, thou shalt study and prepare. There are a few blessed students so academically gifted that they can and do get away without preparing, but for the rest of us mere mortals, this is just an excuse. If you truly do perform well under pressure, then you should do even better when you have prepared.
Finally, thou shalt have a good work ethic. When you go to college, you put yourself on the line, and, therefore, you should not mess it up. For some privileged students with parents who can afford to pay for their college education, it is not a big problem. However, when middle or lower class people go into college, they often have to get into debt without attaining any useful skill or degree. When this happens, people often drop out of college to pay the debt and never come back.
In today’s economy, there is often only one chance; if you fail it’s over. You won’t have another chance and you’ll be doomed to low-wage jobs. It is very important to take college seriously. So many students take it as a right, but in our changing world there are some rights that we can give only to ourselves. Thou shalt give thyself the gift of a higher education.
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