Column: Prepare for grind mode again

Welcome back people. Back to new classes and old friends, back to late nights and early mornings, back to work, as it were. But it’s a new year and a new semester, a clean slate maybe? I would like to think so.

It’s now the third week of school since winter break. The lethargy of down time has worn down to a sweet memory, and three weeks is all it took to kill off that memory. For some of us it may have had something to do with the extra credits we decided to pile on. For others it might be that we are still getting back up to speed, or getting into the swing again.

The smart ones hit the ground running. They have their act together and I applaud them for their foresight. It is refreshing to feel as if you have your life under control, or at least your class schedule. Oh the things I would do to feel like I have my own act together.

I would like to inquire as to where the line between challenging one’s self and biting off more than one can chew lies exactly. I would assume it’s a fairly fine line, and I have a feeling it tends to change of its own accord throughout the year. Sadly it’s probably one of those unanswerable questions like what’s really in hotdogs and is there actually a god.

My personal philosophy states that it’s better to avoid getting overloaded because then you don’t learn much of anything, whereas if you maintain a workload that is engaging, yet not difficult to keep up with, then you learn more and understand more deeply the concepts that you’re trying to grasp.

Easier said than done, obviously. Especially when our advisors are breathing down our necks, we try to look at the big picture and see that at the rate we’re going, we’re talking about at least three years to finish a two-year degree. I don’t know about you but I know even if I wanted to go to school for the next 10 years, I’m unable to financially support such an endeavor.

So, becoming overloaded it would seem, is inevitable. At some point we have to buckle down and power through the work. We have to deal with the stress and we would all like to emerge on the other side, with our sanity mostly intact and not otherwise addicted to addictive substances.

A certain level of preparedness has to be attained then, before we really hit our hard spot in life. Some would argue that your entire life leading up to said hard spot is all the preparedness that you are capable of getting. I would make the argument that one can live a lifetime and not be ready.

Your life is definitely the most in-depth training you will receive. However you have to know how to use your experiences in life to your advantage. A lot of people look at events in their lives in a harsh light especially ones pertaining to stress, pain, or struggle. People don’t like to remember these things.

I recently read an essay called Learning in the Key of Life. By Jon Spayed, which talked about what it should mean to be educated. His writing intrigued me by saying that the whole world is a classroom.

He also talks about a concept he calls fast and slow learning. Fast learning is vocational; it’s training for a specific job. Fast learning will speed you through society. And you will probably make a lot of money.  Slow learning, involves learning from the world, Learning the arts and humanities. In the end you gain meaning, understanding, and fulfillment.

Food for thought.

Opinions expressed in editorial and opinion articles are the views of individual NIC students. These views do not necessarily  reflect the opinions of the Sentinel, North Idaho College, or any other organizations or groups there-in. North Idaho College is not responsible for the accuracy of statements or opinions shared.