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Dont Bite Off More Than You Can Chew!Aug 15 '00 Write an essay on this topic.When I got married at the end of 1997, I decided to take a year off from school so that I would have time to "adapt" my new changes. Little did I know what would be in store for me when I returned! I took off the fall semester so that I could plan my wedding and make all the arrangements. It was great -- no classes, no homework... I was free! While all my friends were attending classes, I was visiting caterers and sampling appetizers. While they were studying for finals, I was confirming wedding attendees. After I got married, one of my friends suggested I return to school for the spring semester instead of the fall like I was planning. But we had some wedding costs to pay off, so I wanted to work full-time to help pay for those. Plus I had only been married 2 weeks, and I was still trying to get used to taking care of a place of my own! I told her I would definitely be back for the fall semester, if not the summer session. Summer didn't happen. I was doing well at work and I didn't want to give up the pay of a full-time position. I'll register for fall. At the end of the summer, I got my registration packet and class catalog. I picked out 5 classes, all moderately difficult. After all, I had been going full-time before I took my break, so I could handle it! Meanwhile I gave my notice at work that I was quitting to go back to school full-time. When school started, I was happy to be back. My professors all seemed nice. But two weeks into the semester, I was feeling the burn. I wasn't used to writing 3 papers in a day, or reading 8 chapters for all my classes. I had fallen out of the loop. And I was falling behind. I found it hard to study at my apartment, where no one was home and Oprah was calling my name. I would get sidetracked easily. Instead of worrying about my calculus test the next day, I would be wondering what I should make for dinner. Not good at all. After doing poorly on my first two calculus tests, I dropped the class. The professor suggested that I was trying to do too much my first semester back. I realized that I had bitten off more than I could chew. When I had registered, I thought that I could pick up right where I left off, but I was wrong. When I was living with my parents, my mom used to make dinner and I could concentrate on studying. Not anymore. I had to learn how to manage school and home without screwing up. After midterms, which I did OK on (not good though!), I sat down with my husband and we decided that school came first. We asked my mom to cook for us once or twice a week so I could catch up on my reading. Weekends were spent studying, and then cooking in bulk for the freezer. Since I was able to spend more time on my books, my grades went up. I was able to catch up, and pass the remaining 4 classes with decent grades. My advice to people considering taking some time off is this: don't try to be Superman/Superwoman by attempting to pick up where you left off. It's very difficult to do, as I found out. I would strongly recommend going part-time your first semester back, so you can get back into the groove of school. Once you get used to writing term papers and reading 100 pages a night, you are once again prepared for the trials and tribulations of the academic world. Also, try to meet with your professors the first week of school, and let them know you have taken some time off. They will try to offer you advice on how to study and what you need to do to succeed in their class. All my professors were very understanding, and 2 of them offered me extra credit opportunities when I wasn't doing well. Don't go what I went through and suffer. I felt awful because I thought I was failing in everything (home and school), when in reality, I let myself get sidetracked. I was letting myself do one thing and not the other, when I should have balanced both out. You can do well in school after a long break, but you need to know what you can handle and what you can't.  |
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