The end of fall quarter brings a fairly universal feeling to the Ohio University campus. We push through these last few hectic weeks with the finish line — an absurdly long holiday break — close in mind. I’d challenge anyone to find a student on campus today that doesn’t feel overwhelmed with finals week fast approaching.
This hectic and fast-paced lifestyle is accepted and familiar to so many students, something you catch onto fairly quickly. It seems that the most popular bit of advice to offer a freshman is that college success is all about time management.
Yet, I’ve found that, despite numerous attempts at time management and stress-coping techniques, everyone finds themselves swimming upstream every so often. And when you’re bogged down with more than you feel you can take on yourself, it’s hard to keep things in perspective.
This student perspective is precisely what inspired my columns throughout fall quarter.
How truly aware are you of the world around you?
When so many of your personal concerns are centered in college town-Athens, it can be hard to remember the big world that remains temporarily out of reach. Yet as you carry on with your life, time is passing and things are changing all around you.
All these changes can seem minute, but when you really focus on them, it’s easy to see how they tie in to your daily life.
Drawing inspiration from such a wide range of happenings was, at times, a challenge. It showed me that one of the hardest things to maintain is a healthy perspective.
But at the same time, remembering that many of my daily concerns don’t even compare to some of the other things going on around me helped me to stay grounded.
Over the past nine weeks I’ve related everything, from world population to indoor tanning regulations, back to student life.
Prior to this project I found myself overlooking so many news stories and world happenings, dismissing them because I thought they held little bearing on my day-to-day life.
When I realized how far off I was, I wanted to take it to the other side of the spectrum. I started to search for the impact that every current event could possibly have on those around me.
With a head full of econ formulas and a belly full of Shively food, it’s easy to dismiss things beyond the campus boundaries. Many OU students have a hard time getting involved in the Athens community, let alone staying involved and up-to-date with national and global events.
It’s a cozy and familiar ditch that I often find myself stuck in. But when you do find a way to break through, it’s always a refreshing, rewarding experience.
I started out trying to find the ways that global and national events, whether they offered a quirky anecdote or had huge circumstance, fit into the lives of OU students.
But at the end of this project, I now see that it’s much more important to find the ways that we will fit into the world. Gaining knowledge, conserving perspective, and forming opinions on the happenings around you is a necessary step in order to truly take part in the global community.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the advice and opinions I’ve had the opportunity to offer through Take it Personally.
This has been an amazing learning experience for me, and I hope I’ve been able to inspire you along the way.
Nicole Spears is a sophomore studying public relations and a columnist for The Post. Any last comments? Email her at ns307109@ohiou.edu.
