Holly: Excuses. They're like noses, everyone has one. Except Voldemort, of course. But why are we so insistent upon making excuses? It's almost like a reflex, in some cases. "I'm too tired". "I'm stressed." "I just don't feel like it." "I don't know what to do anymore." "I just didn't know what to do." And the list goes on and on...
In my own experiences as of late, I've learned that excuses don't really solve anything. They don't solve the problem. When I was a student and I had a deadline or something due looming over me, I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of the cloud of stress hanging over me. In short, I would get things done really really early. It didn't make sense to me to just have that THING hanging over you; GET RID OF IT was my mindset. Why? Why have that hanging over you? Just DO IT! And honestly, that mindset saved me so much time...as well as my sanity. Now that I have a full-time job, I've adopted this mindset as well. If I notice something that needs done, I just do it. It doesn't matter if I cleaned the same thing the previous day, or if I tested that one dog recently. Just do it. It makes me happy, and it makes my co-workers happy too because things are getting done. Which is the ultimate goal.
My challenge is this: if you have something you know you need to do, just do it. Make a plan, stick to it, intentionally set time aside. Just DO the bloody thing and GET. IT. OVER.WITH. Trust me on this one, you'll feel so much better when it's all said and done.
A quick plug about generosity (part 2 of the blog title): Kelly and I were talking earlier about our excuses and how sometimes this leads us to performing at less than 100%. Especially concerning professors we have encountered or are encountering now. They do SO MUCH for us and to us, it just seems reasonable and inexcusable (pardon the pun) to give them nothing less than 110%. We both know profs who stay later, make exceptions for students, extend deadlines, literally bend. over. backwards for them. For all they do to accommodate OUR needs, giving them just an inkling of something so precious they've given us...time...is the very least that we can do. Current students, let that be a challenge from me as I pass the alumni-student baton off.
Kelly: Having grown up with parents who are teachers, this conversation has stuck with me. I have seen my mom and dad bend over BACKWARDS for certain students, or a certain student just so they will do well. And that right there I think is the greatest act of generosity that a teacher can do. And those teachers who make those exceptions are depending on those students to follow through. And I have seen students disappoint my parents; and it genuinely hurts them. Ok enough about that. I know that when I get something done, especially something that we get assigned in the beginning of the semester, it is such a great feeling when it's all said and done! Example; when I took my summer class we had to do an 8-10 page paper. I started my research about 2 weeks before the paper was due and finished it a week before it was due. Meanwhile, while my class was scrambling around trying to get theirs done. And I was...done. Completely done! And trust me, there is no greater feeling. Stress is not good for anyone, but it aggravates my messed up joints, especially my ankle. So this semester I am going to do whatever it takes to ensure that extra pain doesn't happen.
Call me an over-achiever. Call me crazy. Whatever. It's just the way that I roll and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have been blessed to have wonderful professors who actually give a crap and take those extra steps to make sure that I'm succeeding. And I try to take advantage of as many of those opportunities as I can; in a way I feel like we owe it to them. I really do. And if you take just the small steps to take that initiative, then they're going to notice. Again, living example of that. I remember being in high school and getting stellar remarks on my report cards. "Kelly is such a hard working student," "Kelly always does more than what is asked." And just recently, I was told that a professor "likes my spirit." LITTLE things. It's always the little things that make a difference. And I'm not trying to brag or boast. I wasn't "raised" to be a good student; I just knew to. I knew to give 110% to my teachers and professors because I gave 110% to my parents. Again, it's the little things.
I feel that at 22 I am much more mature than I was last year. Even 6 months ago. And it's because I've had to grow up a lot. I went in kicking and screaming at first, but eventually the hand holding has to decrease. Especially with the rigors of my nursing academia, I had several wake-up calls in which I realized nobody was around to carry me. Except God. I feel that if you let God carry you through the hard times and the excuses, then you'll have the strength to carry yourself over the humps and away from the temptations. I hope that this blog can be a lesson to some of you, but it's also a lesson and a reminder for me. As a friend of mine always says: Choose happiness. Seek opportunity. Be encouraged. Make a difference.
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