(Originally posted March 19th, 2013)
The middle of the spring semester of my sophomore year is here. I almost said ‘finally’, but really these past few months flew by without much to leave me with. Classes are a blur, work life is barely memorable and quite honestly all that will really stick out to me about this year so far will be my family moving and some of the weekends shared with my roommates and friends.
It’s hitting me pretty hard these past few weeks how quickly college seems to be flying by. I constantly question myself about the decisions I’m making and how they’ll be impacting my life in the not too distant future – Did I pick the right college? Did I pick the right major? Was that class worth taking? Should I have accepted that job?
I know for many college students, sophomore year is the time where we hit our “slump”. Motivation ceases to exist in school work and the thought of going to work sounds worse than walking on hot coals. I think, for myself at least, my feeling on the subject is exponentially higher because I haven’t involved myself in much else but school and work, except for the occasional join on a whim which leads to me quitting because I don’t think i can make the time between my two required activities.
So, while I sit here and question the many things in life I want to do or what I think I’ve done right/wrong, I’m wondering what it is that I’d rather be doing to get myself out of this Slump.
While I’m supposed to be studying (Don’t look at me like that, you’re probably supposed to be studying, too), I’m writing a Tumblr post that is long overdue. I promised to myself this summer that I would do a post at least once a day, if not at least once or twice a week. But, as you can see, my posts veered off around the time I came back to State.
The purpose of my post today is to remind myself, and maybe some of you out there, about the promises we should keep to ourselves. I promised myself that this year, I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’d push and pull until I was in a place where I was happy and fulfilled. I’d volunteer, I’d make new friends. I’d be a top intern at a top magazine by the summertime.
Where am I? I’m in my apartment, putting off studying for a class I just can’t grasp. I’m looking at the magazines I want to be involved with instead of calling them and asking them to take me on as an intern. I’m telling you, Twitterers, Facebookers„ Future Employers, that I have not kept my promises to myself. If this wouldn’t make a great magazine article, I’m not sure what would.
Yesterday in one of my Journalism classes, my professors laughed about how it’s so hard being a journalist because you never know when to stop writing. You become so passionate about the subject you’re reporting on that you keep going and going until you have to edit out half of the article. THAT, my readers, is what I should be striving for. To have the passion and the will to create articles that I can’t stop wanting to write about.
How do you obtain that passion? How do you sit at your computer for hours with your fingers moving and your mind on full speed? By GETTING OUT OF YOUR APARTMENT and becoming involved. By facing the things that are bothering you, that are keeping you locked up, and saying to hell with it. That you want to begin your passion.
So, back to my original point (see my passion coming out?), the promise we should be keeping to ourselves is passion. Are we really enjoying this class? Probably not. But you should be PASSIONATE about where this class could lead you. Are you happy with the major you’ve taken? Probably, so go FORTH and become involved so that you can expand your passion for it.
So, let’s make a little spring time resolution with ourselves. I mean, why not? First day of Spring tomorrow, might as well. Let’s promise to each other that the passionless life that is putting us in this Slump, be it you’re a sophomore or not, is not going to continue on anymore. Let’s promise to each other to keep the promises we make, so that one day we won’t look back and wonder what we did with our time instead of doing the things we wanted.
I’m looking out my window right now and it’s ugly and nasty, but I’m going to take this opportunity of a gross day and study, passionately aka really hard, for these tests I have this week. And then I’m going to make the promise to myself to write more regularly and to start seizing all of the opportunities that are coming my way.
Why keep living the same way when the results aren’t what you’ve been wanting for yourself? Passion, everyone, is the promise I’m presenting. I promise I’ll be showing more of it.
x.
The Observer. 