How To Write a Last Minute Essay

It's finals week in the world of college, and that means tests, essays, studying, and lots and lots of coffee. Oh, and stress. Lots and lots of stress. This semester, several of my finals include essays, and unfortunately, I am not one of those students who sits down the week before and writes her essays ahead of time. I am a procrastinator (darn YouTube!), and I now am having write several essays in just a day or two. This isn't the first time it's happened to me, and I have developed a method of researching and writing an essay in a short period of time.

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We were all taught how to write outlines when we were in middle school. They were such a pain the the butt then, but I have realized how invaluable they have become. Now, it can be time consuming to fully write out an outline, so I have re-vamped the way I use my outlines. Basically what I do is I start  with a numbered list on my computer and write out all the main points I want to make. Instead of just writing the topic, I write a full sentence that will work as the start of a paragraph. Then I add information to each of the points until I'm happy with the amount of information I have. After each section is done, I reformat the whole thing into essay form, throw in a few connecting sentences, and check it for grammar and punctuation mistakes. BOOM, you have an essay.

It's also good to set goals for yourself and then reward yourself when you accomplish them. For example, tell yourself you will go eat dinner after the rough draft is finished. You should also find a way to unclutter your mind. I get distracted very easily while I'm writing, so I've learned to just write down things that keep popping up in my head. doing that helps me save the thought for latter and also gives my mind the permission to stop stressing about that question.

In addition to all of this, learn to know yourself and your limits. Push yourself to get the work done, but don't push yourself so far that you will become a nervous wreck. Know when you can't handle it anymore and just stop. Come back to it a half hour or so latter and finish the job. Nothing is worth a panic attack.

To all of you who are in college and are taking finals in the next few weeks, good luck! I hope you do really well on your papers; I know you can do it! Enjoy your break and have a great time with you family.

You Know You're a Writer When

As you know, I am writing major. As I immerse myself in the program, I have come to realize that I have developed certain traits and have had certain experiences that quite clearly label me a writer.

You know you're a writer when...

1. You proofread a paper that has already proofread by four other people and find five mistakes.
2. You get into passionate discussions with other writers over weather a certain grammatical error is truly a mistake or just a stylistic choice. 
3. You have strong feelings about certain grammar uses.
4. MLA vs. APA: the bane of the writing world.
5. British vs. American: who knew that two countries who use the same language could have so many variations!?
6. Using an exclamation mark can give you stress. 
7. You are a beast when it comes to Scattergories.
8. You are continually faced with the question, "Am I writing enough?"
9. Journaling is the best way to vent your feelings.
10. You continually have to tell people that you are a Writing major, not an English major. (Yes, some people have the audacity to tell you they are the same thing.)
11. You use different writing styles to tell which multiple-choice answer your professor just copied and pasted to the test. This can be a very helpful hint as to which one is correct.

I know a lot of these are probably just me ranting, but, hey. The more you know!

Time Managing Tips From the Least Qualified Person EVER!

Dear Anna,

I am probably not the best qualified person to give advice about time management skills. I am a terrible procrastinator. I almost always put assignments or studying off till the last possible moment. (But let's be real, the internet is usually more interesting than homework anyways.)

However, right now school is a full-time job for both of us. On many forms I have filled out, they have a "Student" option when they ask for your occupation. It is literally considered a job, and one must get the job done. Here are a few things that I have learned that may help you schedule your time.

1. Planners: A planner just might save your life. In there you can make a sort of to-do list for yourself. Write down everything from homework to hangouts, from tests to social engagements. I've been using a little one that Mom won for me in a bingo game last summer, and it is great! It has gotten so beat up from how much I use it. Planners are often pretty cute, too! Mine has motivating little saying in it.
    
   I am hoping to get an hourly planner for 2015, that way I can block out when I have classes, and then fill in the rest of the time with homework sessions, club meetings, and relaxation times.
   
2. Calenders: We have these really cool things now called Smart Phones. I don't know if you've heard of them. They're pretty sweet. I think every single one of them has a calender built in. I use my phone's calender to mark down when things are due, when I'm going away, and when people are coming to visit. It's a good visual and you can even set up alerts so your phone tells you when something is up! (Note: Do not let this device control your life! No matter how wonderful it seems, use your own brain. There is so much more to life than that!)
   
3. Get to know yourself: In all of this, know how you work. You are not going to do yourself any favors by stressing your body and mind out. Learn when you are most alert and motivated and do homework then. Know when you need to take a break. My philosophy is that a well-rested mind with just a little bit of knowledge will do much better than a exhausted mind crammed full with every fact under the sun.

I hope this helped you a little bit. Good luck!

~Lindy

You do not need to know.

When I entered ninth grade, everybody kept asking questions like this:
"Where are you going to college?"
"What are you going to do with your life?"
"What job do you want?"

Little thirteen year old me was scared.  I did not know.  Am I supposed to know what to do with my life?

Those questions have been sitting in the back if my mind for the past two years.  I always felt a little inadequate because I did not know what I wanted to do with my life.

I went to Creation music festival this past summer, and met a woman named Susan.  She was running a booth for an art gallery.  We started talking, and somehow we got onto the topic of what I wanted to do with my life.

She kept talking, and every single thing that came out her mouth struck a deep chord in me.  She talked about how she never thought she was going to be an art curator when she was young.  She did not know where life was going to take her.

She did not know, but God knew.  He used all of her experiences to prepare her for this job. 

This gave me comfort and joy.  Comfort because, I do not need to know what to do with my life.  Joy because, God, the one who created Nelson Mandela, William Shakespear, and Billy Gram, knows what he is going to do with my life. 

I do not need to know because he does.

(Ps.  I will answer your question about predestination and free will, Lindy.  I just need some time to think about it.)

Beads

The front cover of the current issue of "Baily's Beads"

My English class this semester is entitled "Literary Editing and Magazine Production." Since I will probably end up in some sort of magazine work after graduation, I was extremely excited when I discovered it's title. A class entirely dedicated to the science of magazine making! (Call me a nerd, but I get excited over this sort of thing.)

However, it gets even better. The main portion of this class is actually comprised of editing and publishing the school's literary magazine, "Baily's Beads:" a magazine that has won several national awards.

I'm not entirely sure what my role will be in the creation of the publication. We only met for the first time today so I don't know how everything will work out. I know for sure that I will be on the promotion committee with some intensely creative people that I look forward to working with.

The most exciting part for me is being able to work with other people in my department. These are the kinds of people who I will someday share a workplace and a professional field with. The magazine is also opening up a whole field of opportunities for me to establish a network and meet people who make a living doing what I want to do. It gives me opportunities to share God-given gifts and talents.

While I still am feeling overwhelmed and disjointed, I'm looking forward for the rest of this semester. I feel like it has something special to offer. Something that, like a bead, will gleam brightly on my string of college semesters.

Playing House

I am officially moved into my very first apartment. (Yay me!) Before we go anywhere, I would like to give you a quick tour.

My apartment's basic outline

There are four girls living in our apartment, two per bedroom. The kitchen is more of a kitchenette that has a small fridge, microwave, sink, and cupboards. My roommate and I have our room set up so that there is a divider down the middle made of our wardrobes and desks. I took a few pictures of my half of my room and the rest of the apartment:

My bedroom

My desk and half my wardrobe

Our living room

Our Kitchen

As we were moving into our kitchen and putting all our stuff away, I had the oddest sensation that we were little girls playing house. We really don't know what we're doing and we're just trying to figure out where is best to put our cups and how to work our blenders. (Somehow we ended up with three blenders in our apartment, two of which are nearly identical. Go figure.) It gave me the feeling of being very small person in a very big world. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, and that is an unsettling feeling.

But at the same time, I like it. It creates within me a feeling of adventure, and I like adventures. It's a new opportunity to learn and grow, and I don't want to take that for granted. 

Here we go college. Let's do this!