Finding Your Flock

To My Dear Red Devil Class of 2019,

Congratulations are in order. You've already made the first (and perhaps most important) step to being successful in college by choosing Converse! The next four years, or even four months, may seem slightly daunting, but your Big Sis class is here to offer you some helpful advice.

Number One: Taking care of your health is the most important thing you can do. I'm not just talking about trying to keep off the freshman fifteen, but making sure to get plenty of sleep, having regular mealtimes (of nutritious foods that will help to give you tons of energy), and making sure not to overload your backpack to the point that either it breaks or you do will make a huge difference in your academic performance and your general attitude and well-being.

Number Two: You will thank yourself later for staying organized. I cannot tell you how many times my organization (or lack thereof) either saved me or doomed me. There is no better feeling than looking in your folder, or notebook and seeing your assignment exactly where you put it, and no worse feeling than realizing that your ten page paper due in three hours is nowhere to be found. Not only is it important to keep your physical notes and papers organized, but it's also crucial to keep your mind clear, focused, and relaxed. You'd be surprised how often these go hand in hand. When you're frazzled and distracted, misplacing you work is bound to happen, and conversely, keeping your desk clean and organized can actually help keep your mind clean and organized!

Number Three: Finally, while it's important to keep your schoolwork a priority, ultimately making time to hang out with friends, or even just to be alone and have some peace and quiet will make your college experience both productive and enjoyable. Having a strong network of friends will give you much needed emotional support for the times when you're feeling stressed, homesick, or just in need of a good laugh. You will have a lot of decisions (for the very minor to huge life decisions) to make over the next few years, and keeping in touch with your own goals, values, and dreams will make those choices a lot easier when the time comes.

Don't be too hard on yourself. You won't always be perfectly organized, healthy, and emotional balanced. That's ok, your fellow classmates as well as your Big Sisters will always be there for help and support. We believe in you, and we can't wait to see the next generation of Red Devils grow up and do amazing things!

Love,
Meghan Speed: Class of 2017

Allow me to paint you a picture: I am in my dorm, sitting at my desk, hair disheveled and eyes leaking tears during the final scenes of Amadeus as Mozart's Requiem plays. I came to be in this state of emotional turmoil though a series of events beginning with being assigned to analyze a snippet of "Don Giovanni" for theory class. As I was writing out chord symbols and cadences, I thought about the fact that I've never really "liked" Mozart, however, I found myself really appreciating the genius evident in the writing of this piece. I began thinking about his music in relation to his personal life, drawing connections, one thing led to another, and now I love Mozart. This is only one example of the situations I find myself in all too frequently. I get distracted, and then I become focused, but rather than being focused on the original task, I become focused on my distractions. In all fairness, this has led to some rather wonderful outcomes (such as a newfound appreciation for Mozart and some truly top-notch doodles in the corners of my homework), but has also led to frantic paper-writing sessions and less than perfect assignments that could have been avoided had I simply channeled my concentration on the task at hand. This becomes an issue of time management when a project that should take an hour of my time ends up taking three, and while this is simply part of my nature, it's also an issue of personal discipline.

My biggest struggle with time management and my biggest strength are two sides of the double edged sword that is my personality. Because, while I do end up venturing off on rabbit trails, I don't consider any opportunity to learn something new to be a waste of time. I believe that a critical part of using your time wisely is putting one hundred percent of your passion, energy, and focus into whatever you choose to do. Making the most of every moment opens an entirely new spectrum of possibilities for the minutes in an hour, the hours in a day, and the days of a lifetime.