Cortney
What is good advice when you get to a point where you are discouraged and aren't sure if you can continue? How do you keep going in the hard classes?
I will be majoring in Classics which is said to be one of the most rigourous courses in liberal arts. I am worried about whether or not I have what it takes. #college
2 answers
Nicole Baillie
Nicole’s Answer
I can absolutely relate to the work it takes to overcoming the challenge of "hard classes". While I wasn't a Classics major, I did have a pretty rigorous curriculum as an engineering student. I agree with a good portion of Suri's answer...a lot of the motivation for me was in my mind.
As I struggled in my first and second year to get my footing, what kept me motivated was that 1)the time in college goes very fast, as do many things that have time limits (for instance, before you know it there is a quiz, a test and soon after the semester is over); 2)I had a pretty clear picture of what I expected my circumstances to look like after I graduated with my degree 3)I was and still am genuinely interested in engineering as a function of understanding how things work and what I can do to make things work better.
I enjoyed my college years even as I worked hard to graduate. I made life-long friends. I share this because your study environment, how you learn, what stimulates you to do more, these are some things that are different for every individual. I suspect that as you move through your college journey, you will come to a point where you understand what works for you. I wish you the best of luck on that journey.
Hope you find this answer helpful.
Suri Vangala
Suri’s Answer
Great question.
First of all, we all face this situation in various facets of our lives. In most of the cases we can do go farther than we think we are capable of. I recently started running. I ran few half-marathons last year. There are times during a race you think you are fully exhausted, but you do get a second wind. In many cases it is in the mind. This applies to studies, work and other situations too.
Here are some things that could help:
a) It makes it easier to get over your hurdles when you focus on the end result.
b) It helps if you love what you are doing.
c)Your family and friends that you can confide in
d)Some professors would be willing to help you out of tough situations.
e)You should be thoughtful about the workload in a given semester
f)You should be prepared to give up on some other non-studies related activities temporarily so that you can put in some extra effort