Tag: college

Procrastinators! Read This…Later

Bailey GunnLeave a comment

It’s a disease (or a gift?) to be able to postpone things to the last minute. But, I wouldn’t even call it postponing because that implies some sort of effort…hmm…oh, well. I’ll think of a synonym later…

Yes, we’ve all been victims of procrastinating both large and small projects, and of course, science says writers are repeat offenders. This is not news to me, as you’d expect. For it wasn’t that I didn’t want to write about whether Hamlet was actually “mad” in his eponymous play in high school, it was simply that I wanted to do other things more. Like watch full marathons of Say Yes to the Dress and analyze why pretty girls chose ugly dresses.

And procrastinating is a habit that seems, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, as unbreakable and insurmountable as other unhealthy routines like smoking cigarettes or eating junk food. And it’s not without its perks: the adrenaline high of completing a project or finishing a task as the deadline is closing in, as the wire pulls taut around your neck, is simply exhilarating. Why else would we do this to ourselves time and time again if we didn’t get some strange pleasure out of barely getting things done?

Of course, this was my mantra in college. At any given time, I was so tired from staying up studying and writing that I was almost completely awake and energized. I lived in a constant state of finishing a paper only to start another one a few hours later (one I had known about for weeks). Then, when I was removed from the gentle hands of the American educational system (I can hear you chuckling through the screen) and into my study abroad experience, my procrastinating only worsened. At finals time, I wrote two 15+ papers in the span of 24 hours. (Of course, I’m sure you’re all skeptical and unimpressed by this because this is all coming from the girl who writes daily, but this is the part where you gasp in amazement for dramatic effect.)

I convinced myself that I didn’t have “time” for papers, and I let it all go, until I sincerely did not have any time to write my papers.

But today, in life’s infinite wisdom, and through the tried and tested methods of age, I have come to the following conclusion about procrastination: the homework that is known is better than the homework that is yet to be done.

Meaning this: do a little bit each day and you won’t feel so bad about putting it off.

Because here is the rub, keeping with the Hamlet theme earlier, if you know you’re a procrastinator, then you shouldn’t kid yourself about it. You shouldn’t even begin to tell yourself that you’ll start the project early when everyone knows you’re lying. Just accept that it is a part of your identity. For example, Clark Kent is a huge part of Superman, even though it is the dorky, not-so-awesome side. Procrastination is the Clark Kent to your secret superhero identity.

So, embrace your procrastinating side. However, plan for it. If you know you are going to procrastinate, then make sure you have enough time to do so. I promise, the looming feeling that you get when you think about a project or issue that you have to resolve is so. much. worse than actually pulling yourself away from wedding shows and just doing the thing. Then, when it’s done, you’ll feel accomplished, and you can reward yourself. With more wedding shows.

The point is, don’t spend so much trying to change your ugly habits. Instead, make them work for you.

I Wish I Had Something Different to Say

Bailey Gunn2 Comments

When I was a teenager, I had two thoughts. How am I going to hide this pimple on my face? and How am I going to hide myself?

Now that I am an adult, I also have two thoughts. What the hell am I going to do with my life? and I don’t have a life to do anything with.

You see, that first thought governs much that I do. Well, plagues me, really. I struggle against it frequently when I am trying to blog because I have an open forum to voice my opinion. If you look at past posts, you will find that I do not often win the battle. I do not often tell myself to put my own life journey aside, so I can write something pithy and engaging for a blogging public. But by most accounts, I am completely consumed with deciding on my passion, my calling, AKA what to do with the rest of my life. When I’m not writing this blog, I’m researching, calculating, and planning the next 50 years.

But it’s strange because I started out this blog post by telling you how I felt as a teenager and as an adult, but in reality, I still feel like a child. I see someone working construction, and I suddenly feel the need to put on a hard hat. I watch someone treat a patient, and I am convinced that I should be healing the sick. And yes, an astronaut may have been out of my reach as an actual kid, but I suddenly feel like the stars have never been closer than right now. So, am I ambitious or indecisive?

I don’t know. But the only thing I can say for certain is that I wish I had something different to say. I wish I had my life planned out. I wish I could say that I have the courage to pursue whatever I am “meant” to do. I wish I wasn’t worried about making the right decisions. And truly, I wish I had something different to say about my future.

The only thing, and I mean the only thing, that stops me from having meltdowns daily about all this is one simple quote whose origin is heavily debated. But let’s just say Abe Lincoln said it because, you know, it’s a good quote and he’s a good guy, so he deserves it.

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

I feel like a cork on a champagne bottle when I read that quote. It doesn’t matter what I am. It doesn’t matter if I’m selling out. It doesn’t matter if I don’t pursue my passion. It doesn’t matter if I never “make it.” I just have to be good at what I do, whatever it is. Hopefully, it isn’t axe murdering, but you get it. I just have to give 100% to whatever it is that I am doing. And I am about 95% sure I can do just that. (Did I say I was indecisive?)

And that’s all you can hope for, too. You should give yourself a little wiggle room to be good. But you should never stop striving for it.

5 Things That Are the Same in the “Real World”

Bailey GunnLeave a comment

What can I say? I love living in my fantasy world, which includes copious amounts of books, a large amount of blogging, and tons of tea.

But when I do come up from air and onto “the Facebook,” the number one complaint I hear from my peers is that the “real world” is something they are just now experiencing. From what I can discern, to live in the “real world,” you have to pay your own bills, obtain a job, and balance several activities at once. However, from my perspective, there are many things that seem very familiar and similar about the “real world” compared to the life of a college student. Luckily for recent or soon-to-be graduates, you can take some comfort in the fact that your transition won’t be as turbulent into the “real world” as you would have thought upon completing your degree. For instance, adults will still attend events if there is free food. After all, we’re only human.

But let’s take a look at a few things you can (and already) expect from your life as a young person in today’s “real world.”

1. You’re Exhausted. All of the time. 

-I’m not sure if you thought the sleep fairy would finally visit you once you got a full-time job, but I can assure you that she will remain conspicuously absent. If you’re looking for the bags under your eyes to disappear from all those all-nighters you spent writing last-minute papers, you will need to keep, ah… dreaming.

2. You Will Work Every Day on Something…and Not Finish It.

-With homework, you had to stop working on it at some point to eat or sleep. (Or maybe not if you see number 1). But at a 9-5, there is nothing to do but keep chugging along. You’ll finish your work because you have to (deadlines are a part of the “real world,” too), but you’ll be surprised to see how long you can work on something without making much visible progress. The trick is, and always will be, to keep going, even when everyone else has already stopped.

3. You Can Still Have Some Fun.

-Don’t worry, kids. Just because you are paying your own bills doesn’t mean there isn’t room in the budget to let loose once in awhile. Now that you are an adult, that old saying, “it’s 5:00 somewhere” will actually mean something to you. 

4. You Can Still See Your Friends.

-Of course, it was pretty awesome in college or in high school when your friends lived in the same hall or town as you, but you can always see your friends on your totally open and homework-free weekends. What’s more, you can afford to do something besides rent movies and eat ramen. (Not that that wasn’t the best time of your life, either. It’s just better for your heart if you slow down on the MSG.)

5. You Still Eat Poorly.

-Speaking of ramen, I’m usually trying to jam something down my throat at my desk so that I don’t break the flow of creativity. And rarely is the food sliding down my esophagus as healthy as I would like it to be. However, we all feel a certain nostalgia (and sense of pride) when we mix a few ingredients that wouldn’t normally go together to make a whole new dish. Who could forget my mac and cheese concoction, complete with avocado and pesto? Duh! Yum! Let’s call it resourcefulness instead of what it really is: laziness.

And so, I’m a little skeptical when people talk to me about the difficulties of the “real world.” I say, if you can get a few things done, see a friend every couple of weeks, and eat something for dinner that hasn’t been microwaved, then you can call yourself an adult. If not, well, we’re all in the same lifeboat. You know, women and children first.