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A story about the difficulty of transitioning from high school to university academics, and how to achieve the grades you desire. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"5aabb989-ee7d-411f-ad50-3892b02793a4"},"title":"Fishing for 60's by Nameera Makani"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

I used to think that high school prepared you for university, being that you were told about the horrors and were constantly reminded about the consequences of skipping class and partying too much. I came soon to realize that no piece of advice or lecture could prepare me for what was to come. To put it in the simplest terms, my transition from high school to university sucked and I found myself trying to constantly keep my head above water.<\/p>\n\n

To give some context and background to my story, my household was very university-positive and It was assumed that it would always be the next step after high school. Pressured to pick something to study, I chose Biology since I was remotely interested in it. September 2017 brought the start of my first year. The first few months were tough\u2026meeting new people, trying to find your way around, homework and a personal life all to try and balance. A few months passed and I still felt like the stressed mess I was at the start. The biggest problem I had was reaching academic success and acquiring grades that I felt content with. I would do well on assignments but perform poorly on examinations which would bring my grades down by 8-15%.<\/p>\n\n

I figured that this performance was due to my lack of balance within my personal, social and academic life. This continued into my second year where I would end up with 60s (average being a 69 during my first 2 years) for my final grades. I didn\u2019t think much at the time, since you always hear that \"university is hard\", and \"it\u2019s tough to get good grades\", so I let my first and second-year slip by. It was only until I witnessed others achieving and succeeding on the same exams and assignments that I was doing poorly on. In an emotional state of fear, stress and anger, I decided to take time to reflect on the possible reasoning for my poor grades because I still felt like I could do better. I looked at everything from my study habits, time management skills, personal and environmental motivation and my interests. This allowed me to compile a list of 'wicked problems':
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\nProblem 1: I felt like university did not have a purpose for me. I didn\u2019t feel like I was achieving anything or learning anything during my first 2 years. This was attributed to my lack of interest in my courses and led to minimal motivation. This led me to slack off and not care about the outcome of my poor examination grades.
\nProblem 2: I didn\u2019t know how to learn. I felt like there was only 1 way of doing so and it was my fault because I was just \u2018bad at it\u2019.
\nProblem 3: Having a hard time maintaining an academic, social, and personal life.
\nProblem 4: My surroundings didn\u2019t serve to motivate me. I realized I was surrounded by those who had a similar \u2018I don\u2019t care' mindset.
\nProblem 5: I never discussed academia with anyone. My struggles, concerns or even how to manage the different aspects of my life. This led me to internalize my feelings and problems which led to breakdowns and emotional instability.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"e92c8bc6-c904-4872-8747-51fad9639ec7"},"title":"The Wicked Problem"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Upon sitting down with myself and making a list of everything I thought I was struggling with, I felt relieved that I was able to pinpoint them. I felt like I wanted to try and resolve these, but knew I couldn\u2019t do it on my own. I then began to brainstorm a game plan. For each problem that I listed above, although they connect, I started to try and gather strategies for each:
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\nProblem 1: I Felt like university did not have a purpose for me. I didn\u2019t feel like I was achieving anything or learning anything during my first 2 years. This was attributed to my lack of interest in my courses and led to minimal motivation. This led me to slack off and not care about the outcome of my poor examination grades.
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\nGame plan: I made a flow chart of courses I took\/will be taking that I liked\/ think I will like. Since I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to\/thought there was no purpose to my learning, I decided to scour the internet for career options. I made a list of my likes and dislikes and tried attributing these to possible career options. I found that a lot of the courses I took in my first and second year were mostly prerequisite, and mandatory, whereas my last two years of university were associated with more specific courses and fewer prerequisites allowing for more leeway with the types of courses I could take. I decided to try different disciplines in my third year to see what exactly I enjoyed learning. In addition to this, I consulted a number of professionals, family, friends to learn about possible opportunities my interests were associated with. Eventually with the help from collaboration, research and personal reflection I was able to come to a decision of going into Nursing. It was quite a relief given that I felt so lost for so long, and felt there was no purpose to what I was learning. After figuring out a purpose to my learning and enrolling myself in courses I actually wanted to take, I felt motivated to do better and strive for the stars.
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\nProblem 2: I didn\u2019t know how to learn. I felt like there was only one way of doing so and it was my fault because I was just \u2018bad at it\u2019.
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\nGame plan: I began to evaluate my study plan and my current way of learning. I realized that I didn\u2019t really have an individualized learning plan. Upon realizing this, I began to do some research on the types of learning and ways to study. I also asked some of my fellow classmates about how they study and what works for them. Upon gathering information I realized that I was spending so much time writing out my notes and perfecting them, that I didn\u2019t have enough time to study. From then on I researched different ways of learning such as auditory and visual learning. It was a relief because I always figured that there was only one way to learn. Since I was enrolled in summer classes I tried all the different strategies to see which worked best for me. In terms of a study schedule, I had come across a friend who studied through a strategy which I call \u201cThe Perfect 3\u201d. The first step of this studying technique is to first go over Lecture 1 the same day as attending Lecture 1. On days 3-5 go over Lecture 1 to memorize and remember the concepts and specifics . Then on days 6-8, the goal would be to go over Lecture 1 and be able to recall most if not all of the information discussed. I would do this for every single one of my classes, and for each lecture. I know what you're thinking.... this is crazy...! However, I am a Biology student and it consists mostly of memorization. With proper time management this is more than possible.
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\nProblem 3: Had a hard time maintaining an academic, social, and personal life.
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\nGame plan: Here is where a study schedule and a reward system came into play. I was able to generate a schedule that included my lecture and lab times and marked down the days where I had an exam\/quiz or assignment. I would do this at the beginning of each week and include an hour-to-hour schedule for studying, incorporating 'The Perfect 3'.
\nIn addition to my study schedule, I built a reward system where if my day or week duties were completed I would allow myself to relax and go out on weekends. Although there were times where duties were not completed and a mental health break was needed, I would still take one.
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\nProblem 4: My surroundings didn\u2019t serve to motivate me. I realized I was surrounded by those who had a similar mindset of \u2018I don\u2019t care.
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\nGame plan: I realized that it was a good idea to surround myself with people who worked hard and truly wanted to achieve their best. Although I was grateful to have friends who had my back, and I am still friends with those people, I knew it was a good idea to surround myself with an environment of dedication and hard work to serve as motivation.
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\nProblem 5: I never discussed academia with anyone. My struggles, concerns or even how to manage the different aspects of my life. This led me to internalize my feelings and problems which led to breakdowns and emotional instability.
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\nGame plan: I had to learn how to stop internalizing every problem I had and try and deal with it myself. I reached out to close friends and family in times of need. I had to learn that sometimes dealing with things by myself isn\u2019t always the best option. Realizing that there are people out there willing to help you in times of need is crucial, and sometimes you need to let them help.
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\nOvertime I implemented all these strategies and tactics to assist my academic and mental success. By the end of my fourth year I acquired a sub-GPA of 89.4% and was admitted into the #1 Nursing school in Canada and top 3 in the world. I look back and think about how far I have came, and how far you can get with effort, time and most importantly... believing in yourself. Focus on yourself and build a game-plan that works for YOU. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"63a48656-97b9-406f-9074-9b0e60f51768"},"title":"Finding a Solution"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

All in all, we all at some point are trying to keep our heads above water. It is important to account for all resources at your disposal and understand that there are people out there that can and want to help. Understanding that with hard work and time you can achieve your goals, but you can\u2019t do that without believing in yourself first. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"32b7695a-f4e5-4cfd-84fe-07d73832254f"},"title":"Final Thoughts"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Makani, N. (2021, October 7). Fishing for 60's<\/em>. Liberated Learners. https:\/\/wicked.liberatedlearner.ca\/learner\/fishing-for-60s\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","subContentId":"8c173f9b-8607-4aa9-80e8-0a7fbb6810be","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"}},"title":"APA Reference"}],"hTag":"h2"}

Fishing for 60's

Liam Peart