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By JereMiah Keith Jackson, 88.3 WLFC Pulse Radio General Manager
kagelvltv@gmail.com
@aklcpodcast
This will be my sixth fall semester here at The University of Findlay entering my first year of grad school. Knowing myself over the course of years I learned that I will never be perfect the entire semester, but if I can get off to a good start, then I will most likely have a successful semester, and even year.
Thinking back to 2018 when I came to the University of Findlay I was unprepared and did not know what experiences college would bring me. Through the years I’ve noticed that building good habits early on leads to a successful year. Doing the small things everyday consistently will gradually lead to bigger things and you will see success in your year. Doing the small things like making your bed every morning when you wake up, (I know many of you have heard this from your parent, but they are ON TO SOMETHING) or even going to class 15 minutes early will lead you to turning all your assignments in on time, and being prepared for test and exams that will come up. For freshman coming in, I understand you. Being away from home for the first time, some of you may be homesick, and some of you may even struggle having to handle things on your own at first. And that’s okay. The beauty about the year is that it won’t be over no time soon and there’s plenty of time to turn things around.
For incoming freshman, it’s important to understand your priorities in knowing that academics come first, even when you feel free and want to play video games all night, or even party with some friends. Knowing your priorities and knowing that you have class the next day, homework to do, courses to study, and maybe the most important, getting sleep. Sleep is an art mostly forgotten by most college students, but the ones who get the proper sleep understand how crucial it is to their success.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Adequate sleep contributes to a student’s overall health and well-being. Students should get the proper amount of sleep at night to help stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance.” As I’ve seen from myself when I get the proper sleep, my performance goes up, whether its on the football field, in the classroom, or even with creating content. The more sleep the more success.
But to get the proper sleep one must know balance. As a person who is involved in a lot, I once did not believe in balance in life. I thought I could take on the world each and everyday trying to complete and accomplish every task I set out for myself daily. But I was wrong. As John Wooden (UCLA men’s basketball coach from 1964-1975) once said, “Next to love, balance is the most important thing.”
Understanding your priorities like I stated before and knowing you have to plan your day out in advance instead of living your day spontaneously. Having balance means planning what time you have class, what time you want to eat that day, and planning other things you want to do on a day-to-day basis. Without a plan your are bound to fail, because you have no idea where you are going. But having a plan means doing things with a purpose, making goals, and planning to achieve those goals through the year.
Every day is a day to improve yourself. One thing we say on the football team is to be better than you were the day before, and that is not only a reference to sports, but life in general. Even when you know your priorities, have balance, plan your day out, and make goals for yourself, things will still not go according to plan all the time. There will be times of stress, times you think things are overwhelming you, times you feel you want to quit, but that’s just the reason why you shouldn’t go through journey of the year alone.
The University of Findlay has so many great organizations and extracurricular activities to be involved in, it’s just a matter of you taking that first step. With various clubs such as The Pulse Media Club which has things like our campus radio station, 88.3 WLFC, The Pulse Newspaper which you are currently reading, (Thank you) and Pulse TV (TV Broadcasting). And other clubs such as the K-Pop club, Japanese club, Black Student Union, and a new club coming soon to campus called the Anime club. UF has many club events going on throughout the week and by joining these clubs you will find and make new friends to help you get through the year whenever you feel down and need a pick-me-up. Because ultimately everyone wants to see you succeed, the students, the faculty, coaches, everyone. Just know that everyday will not be all sunshine and rainbows, but as long as you keep stacking up good days and keep improving by the day, consistently practicing good habits, my friend, you will be just fine.
JereMiah Jackson is the student manager of 88.3WLFC the Pulse radio, a social media content creator, and involved in many campus activities. You can find him on YouTube and Instagram.
