The Charger Blog
Charger Blogger Discusses Fueling Your Brain for Finals
Beatrice Glaviano Ӱԭ26, a nutrition sciences major, offers her guide to brain-boosting foods for end-of-semester study sessions.
The Charger Blog
Beatrice Glaviano Ӱԭ26 discusses managing her time and her busy schedule, as well as nurturing her creativity and finding moments to just be.
February 14, 2024
Greetings, everyone. I hope everyone is having a beautiful day, and that they find whatever you do to be fulfilling for the heart, body, and mind.
Lately IӰԭve been feeling behind, and I know that itӰԭs partially because IӰԭm slacking in my academics (please donӰԭt tell my mom). However, itӰԭs not for the reasons youӰԭd think.
...
Okay yeah maybe schoolwork is feeling a bit more tedious than usual, and itӰԭs boring sometimes, but thatӰԭs beside the point Ӱԭ
I donӰԭt know why, but I have been overflowing with creative energy lately. IӰԭve done at least two oil pastel pieces this past week (which is insane), genuinely enjoyed my time in culinary class, both cooking and taking a ton of photos, dancing in my bedroom, reading, journaling, etc. I feel as though my body or soul Ӱԭ or at least some very innate part of me Ӱԭ wants something more human than homework. To all the professors reading this, hear me out: I understand how important schoolwork is. ItӰԭs the whole reason all of us are at college in the first place. Yet, on the flipside, college is also a stage in oneӰԭs life that they are finding who they are as a person. Perhaps itӰԭs not as villainous to embrace my creative spirit as my mind is making it out to be, but homework is homework, and I cannot have my grades slipping out from underneath me.
So, how do we solve this?
Well, time management. Plain and simple. I wouldnӰԭt say IӰԭm a procrastinator, but I do believe that I need to be able to recenter my focus again. For classes such as Organic Chemistry II, EMT II, Anatomy & Physiology, and my nutrition courses, a good deal of effort, memorization, and self-education take place, not to mention active application.
Speaking of active application, I worked 16 hours as a volunteer EMT Wednesday into Thursday. Did I go to class? Nope. Did I get clinical hours and have an absolute blast? Yep. How I didnӰԭt fall asleep I have no idea, but soon enough I found myself back at my apartment thinking to myself:
What the heck just happened?
For the sake of everyoneӰԭs sleep and sanity, I highly recommend not doing this. ItӰԭs taxing, long, and while it does give you a good dose of clinical hours, you can always just do two separate 8-hour shifts.
You: ӰԭSo ... why did you do it?Ӱԭ
Author, drinking a cup of coffee and looking you dead in the eye: "......why not?"
This is terrible reasoning, I know, and in result, I have definitely had some sort of EMS or sleep-deprivation hangover the last couple of days. IӰԭve been able to work through it, but itӰԭs definitely messed with my ability to focus on a few things, which brings us back to my original point:
Time Management.
Normally, I aim to have all of my assignments done by Friday. Does this always happen? Of course not, but itӰԭs certainly a goal I keep in mind. My schedule is free enough to allow me to bang out homework, do my job(s), and live life as a human being; IӰԭve just been scatterbrained and distracted enough for it to become a problem. So, itӰԭs time to refocus and make a game plan. Feel free to use this as a template for your own studies if youӰԭd like, or just as a general way to go about your to-do list:
Typically, when organizing my week, I start with all of the assignments that I have due. It can definitely be a little overwhelming to see them all written out, but once you break everything down and organize it, everything becomes a lot more manageable.
Assignments due this week:
Alright, so nothing horribly bad. Remember that a lot of these involve reading and writing (i.e., chapter readings and quizzes), but a few will require supplementary studying. For example, I will be going over the nervous system from A&P I have to bolster my understanding of its application in A&P, so IӰԭll need to schedule that out. Additionally, letӰԭs make sure I throw in any meetings, plans, workdays, or anything else that will stop me from my coursework, shall we?
Sunday Tasks:
Monday Tasks:
As much as I would like to write out the remainder of my week, that would take several pages and would get increasingly repetitive. Yet now you have an idea of how I filter things. Keep in mind that I only have one class on Monday Ӱԭ Organic Chemistry Ӱԭ which is why IӰԭm able to get so much done. Already, weӰԭve bit off a good chunk of work that needs to get done.
So, thereӰԭs that all written out.
Maybe itӰԭs just a me thing, but does anyone else think about just throwing it all away and going to go live in the woods to bake bread for the rest of our lives? Make friends with the ducks of a nearby pond, understand that you have an owl as your neighbor now instead of a bunch of teenagers, and that there is absolutely no Wi-Fi to be found. ThatӰԭs sometimes what I imagine life to be. Before I could never rest with the idea of a simple life. I chased everything life had to offer, and I still do so to this day. However, sometimes, itӰԭs extremely tempting to just put everything on pause and Ӱԭ I donӰԭt know Ӱԭ chase my dreams of becoming a really, really good artist or chef. Those two are heavy passions of mine, and while I would pursue them, they do not create a very financially stable environment. Additionally, I donӰԭt always want to sell my art. ItӰԭs not because I donӰԭt want money, haha, but because I donӰԭt want to make something I truly love feel like a job. Or a chore. I think the latter is worse, being honest. Even with the blog sometimes, all I can say to myself is:
ӰԭUgh, what on earth am I supposed to write about?Ӱԭ
Which is where creativity comes into play as an extremely handy tool.
I donӰԭt know. Sometimes when IӰԭm just lying on the floor in the feels with Coldplay going, all I think about is starting my own cafe or the other Ӱԭwhat ifsӰԭ I couldӰԭve done with my life. The cafe would be vegan and vegetarian friendly and have an absurd amount of plants almost everywhere in it. There would be glass windows, and a very pet-friendly policy (though there would be a sign warning pet owners of the plants, which would be labeled with both their species and common name). IӰԭd want it to be a home for people. I would want it to be warm, inviting, and a truly supportive atmosphere with all the employees pitching into the playlist to create a wonderful ensemble of music.
Floor thoughts, man. They getcha.
Anyhow, thatӰԭs kinda whatӰԭs been up lately. IӰԭm sure homework ruts have happened to people before, so IӰԭm not quite freaking out (yet). Honestly, IӰԭve just been gentle with myself about it. IӰԭve allowed myself time to do art, but IӰԭve also made sure to get through my studies first before doing so. If anyone else feels as though theyӰԭre being stagnant, IӰԭd highly recommend drawing everything out Ӱԭ and I mean everything. Allot time for fun, for academics, and for all the other life-y stuff that may be happening during your existence. Make a game plan and stick to it the best you can. Life will never be linear, and allowing yourself the room and the grace to change and take up space will make everything all the easier.
What you need to get done will get done. How you go about doing so is a different story.
I hope everyoneӰԭs week, weekend, day, month, year, century, is going well and that all of you are enjoying all that life has to offer as I have been. Feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or potential concerns to bglav1@unh.newhaven.edu and IӰԭll get back to you in a jiffy. Take care everybody.
With peace, love, and all the peanut butter, your blogger,
Beatrice
Beatrice Glaviano Ӱԭ26 is a nutrition sciences major at the University of New Haven.
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