Getting Involved

With THON, Penn State’s largest student run philanthropy to fight pediatric cancer, taking placed this weekend (!!), I decided what better time to talk about getting involved on campus?

If you are going to be in the stands of the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend along side other students, then great! You already got a foot in the door as far as getting involved!

I will also be attending THON this weekend.  I will not only be there with my sorority, but the theater group I am a part of will also be there.  This is my first THON and I can’t lie, I am beyond excited to see what this weekend holds.

But fret not.  If you will not be attending THON this year, no worries!  There are plenty of other ways to get involved on campus, especially at a campus as large as University Park.

University Park is home to over 900 clubs and organizations.  NINE HUNDRED.  That surely is enough to find something you are passionate about.

Yes, the main goal of college is to get a degree.  My dad tells me that every time I tell him about a new extracurricular activity I am taking on.  He will always say something along the lines of “that’s great, but make sure it won’t distract you from your studies!”

And it’s true, I could do a better job at managing schoolwork and social life. What can I say -- I’m not perfect.

But I promise you, joining clubs and organizations is part of the college experience.  Who wants to go through college with a 4.0, and yet not be able to say they had any fun in the process?

Besides, any clubs and organizations you join look good on your resume.  It was the same way just over a year ago, when I, along with most of you, was applying for colleges.  I remember constantly hearing that grades were not everything, that getting involved was a big portion of whether or not a university wanted to have you as a student.

Here are some tips on how to get involved:

Attend the Involvement Fair:  Yes I know, the Involvement Fair at the HUB is super crowded.  I went both last semester and this one, so trust me I know the struggle.  However, this is a great place to see all the clubs and organizations this grand campus has to offer!  At University Park, an involvement fair is held at the HUB at the beginning of each semester, so make sure to check it out in August!

Find something you’re passionate about:  Are you a lover of tea? Well Penn State has it’s own tea club (I know because I still get their emails from when I signed up at the involvement fair).  There is everything from performing arts groups to academic clubs to intramural sports.  If you’re passionate about it, going to meetings every week for that certain club or organization will not seem like a bore, instead you will look forward to it! 

I’m passionate about theater; I’ve enjoy acting ever since high school.  I joined the Thespians, Penn State’s very own theater club – and just last weekend I performed in a play with a group of insanely talent actresses who I could not have been more happy to work with!

Here are some other resources you can utilize in order to get a foot in the door and get involved.

• ·      http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/studentorgs/orgdirectory/Search.aspx (a directory of all the clubs at University Park!)
• ·      http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/twice-the-college-advice/2011/09/13/5-reasons-for-getting-involved-in-college-and-how-to-go-about-it
• ·      https://www.educationquest.org/blog/5-reasons-get-involved/

To Date or Not to Date

I knew this was definitely a topic I wanted to cover, since “dating” is one of the many struggles college students face, but I was not sure exactly when to discuss it.  I figured it was something I would write about when inspiration hit me.

And inspiration practically punched me in the face when I was reminded of what holiday was taking place this Sunday.

What better time to make a blog post about dating than a mere couple of days away from Valentines Day?

I am not going to lie, if you are one of the lucky souls who has someone to make plans with this Sunday, I am slightly jealous of you.  While I did receive a text from this guy earlier today wanting to “hang out” Sunday night, I anticipate my Valentines Day to go the same as last year, and the year before that.  Snuggled in my bed with junk food watching whatever decent romantic comedy I can find on Netflix.

The college dating field is a lot different from high school.  And the reason being is college students rarely date anymore.

Terms like “dating” and “being in a relationship” have slowly been replaced by “talking” and “seeing each other”.  God forbid you refer to the person you make out with at parties and text all the time as your “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”.

We are in the prime of the hookup culture my friends.  An environment where no one wants to be in a serious relationship; however people would rather take on multiple partners, without making a commitment to any of them.

There are pros and cons to this.  Lets talk about the obvious cons here.  Any kind of romance you might have witnessed in movies is practically void in hookup culture.  There are no flowers or fancy dates.  There are no sweet good morning or good night texts.  A usual text from someone you’re merely hooking up with probably looks something like “heyy” , “lol” and “wyd?”.  The person rarely cares about your well-being, only if you’re willing to meet up with them Friday night. 

While the adverse effects are clear, there are some surprising pros that come with hookup culture.  Being in a relationship requires a great deal of work.  In a serious relationship at least, you are expected to put your partner’s needs before your own, and that can be tough.  College is the time to be selfish – to do things YOU want that make YOU happy.  It’s the time to explore and figure out what you like and don’t like.  These things are hard to do when you’re in a relationship.

So to date or not to date, well that’s up to you (and your partner of course).  While dating can be rough in college, it’s also fulfilling to have someone by your side.

Here are some articles that discuss dating in college:

• ·      http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/dating-college-expectation-reality.html
• ·      http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/a5585/college-dating-screwed-up/
• ·      http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/07/why-todays-college-students-need-a-class-on-dating/373823/

And if you need me on Sunday, I’ll be in my bed.  Probably procrastinating on homework while drowning in junk food and romance movies.

That Ugly Thing Called "HomeworK"

Let's face it, this certainly is not just a college problem.  We are introduced to the concept of work outside of school when we are merely elementary students.  But I will tell you one thing, which I’m sure you’ve noticed –

It only gets worse in college.

Again, before we even step foot on campus, we are told that college is a lot harder than high school.  We are told that it is a lot more work, and that college professors expect you to complete a lot of assignments. 

All these things could not be closer to the truth.

So how do we deal with the overwhelming stress of completing multiple assignments from multiple classes?

As I type this now, I am thinking of the podcast I have to record tomorrow, the Econ homework I have to complete, and the Italian pages I have to read from my textbook.  Whenever I’m faced with these tasks, I tend to do everything else than the work assigned to me.  I’ll take a nap, eat some snacks, watch some Netflix… everything I should not be doing.

Procrastination is every student’s worst enemy.  It happens to the best of us.  We have this assignment that we KNOW we should start soon, but yet we tell ourselves “I have time, I can just do this later.”

And then you are up at 2 am doing your homework contemplating whether pursuing a college degree is even worth the struggle.

Here are some tips I have learned in order to complete your homework on time, and semi stress free.

The sooner the better! I talked about procrastination before.  Try not to fall for it.  Complete your assignments as soon as possible, not a couple of hours before it is due.  This will allow you to do your homework under less stress, and actually understand the material being given to you.

Find a good work place.  I’m not sure about you guys, but I always have trouble trying to complete my homework in my dorm room.  Especially with 4 other roommates (supplemental for the win), let’s just say I get distracted easily.  Lots of dorms have specialized “study rooms” available for your use, and there’s always the library, the HUB, etc.  University Park is such a large campus with so many places to do your homework in a non-distracting environment.

Ask your professors for help.  Your professors are there for you when you need them.  And I’m telling you, no matter how bitter they may seem, they do not want you to fail.  Drop in during office hours or schedule an appointment with them if you are facing any issues with the homework.  I promise you, they will be happy to help!

Here are some more resources on how to handle homework in college:

·      http://www.trentinternational.org/tips-for-college-students-on-how-to-deal-with-homework-with-no-stress

·      https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/inside-the-classroom/take-control-of-homework

·      http://www.smead.com/Director.aspx?NodeId=1756