Embrace another new
Last Fall, I wrote the first of our “Thursday Thoughts” on the idea of starting well. If you haven’t had the chance to take a look, I highly recommend it. But here’s the Cliff’s Notes: starting something new will always be difficult, it’s just a part of the human experience. That being said, doing certain things such as taking the first step, creating a plan and building a support crew will help us navigate the newness.
At the start of the semester, we are ready to embrace another “new.” Even if we’ve been at KU for awhile, there will still be new experiences to be had: new classes, new professors, new friendships to make and new opportunities to experience. Here’s a few ideas as to how to make this one, whether it’s our first or our last, the best semester we have on the summit of Mt. Oread.
Start With an Open Mind
Because of prior experiences, either our own or others, it is easy to enter any situation with preconceived ideas. Reject them. The past does not influence the future, nor does a friend’s story automatically become our story. As I began my sophomore year of college, I was excited because I was finally getting to embark on my business major and take the necessary courses. Some of these large, early lecture courses are considered “weeder courses” in business, classes like Accounting I and Accounting II or Macro and Microeconomics. A conversation with a friend had significantly tempered my excitement prior to these courses, saying that “you become a face in the crowd” and “your professor doesn’t care at all about you.” As I walked out of the final in each of these classes, my friend’s sentiment couldn’t have been farther than the truth. I got to know both instructors very well (although I was in a class of 200+), and recognized each of their deep care and concern for my learning.
Give 100%
However, I would not have gotten to know my instructors or experienced their genuine interest in me as a student had I not put forth effort to meet these instructors and ask questions. At the start of any endeavor, whether it be new or old, it is crucial to put forth energy and effort. Nothing worthwhile comes without effort, and putting in the time early on will put us on a path to success from the beginning. As I’m sure many of us have all experienced, failing that first test of the semester is the wake-up call we need to “put it in gear,” but we would have much rather have had it “in gear” from the beginning.
There are so many things that will influence our success this semester. That being said, if we start this semester with an open mind and are willing to put in the time, energy and effort, we’ll be successful. After all, keeping a positive attitude and giving our best are really the only two things that we can control in life.
Good Company is a ministry at the University of Kansas. We seek to bring authentic connection in a world of AirPods.
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