College To-Do List Week 6 - What you should do before every Spring semester

The College To-Do list isn't going anywhere and is here to see you through until the end of your Spring 2014 semester! :) And the first step is planning what you want to accomplish this semester:

Hope you have...

...a magical day today!! :D 

Christmas...oops I mean college...To Do List Week 7 ;)

Your to do list item this week? HAVE FUN!!

I hope you enjoy this week and take some time to relax. 

And those of you living, well, not in Florida - please make a snowman for me!

Take some time to say thank you

For some reason in the past few weeks I've gotten more e-mails than ever from students thanking me for writing this blog and writing my book. The emails have come from people all over the country - yet the one that stood out the most was from someone who graduated from my high school.

She graduated three years after me, but she's been following this blog for a few years while attending community college and was just accepted to Columbia. I was so excited for her and so overwhelmingly thankful she'd shared  this with me. 

These messages do more for me than I can adequately express. Often we go through our lives and don't know if we're really making a difference, if what we do really matters. And sometimes all it takes is one 'thank you' to lift someone up for months, even years. 

You may think the people around you and the people who've helped you know how you feel about them, but you'd be surprised on what a difference it makes when you tell them.

Too often people go out of their way to complain or criticize (i.e. see YouTube or news article comments) and in general it seems there is too little effort spent on appreciating people.

I know it sounds quaint, but I believe there is significant beauty in putting more "thank you's" out there in the world. 

So the next time you read a great article or book, contact the author and tell them how much you appreciated their work. 

The next time someone is really friendly to you at a store, make a note of their name and tell the manager. 

And take some time this year to send a short thank you note to anyone who helped you this year in any way (like a professor, perhaps? *wink *wink). Trust me - you will make their day, and probably make yours too.

Ask Isa: "I feel ashamed for taking so long to complete community college."

From the Ask Isa inbox:

Dear Isa,

I've been attending community college for 2 years and I am still no where near close to getting my A.A. I've changed majors a few times. 

I feel like I should be a lot farther then I am right now. After two years I've finally figured out what it is I want to major in. 

Is it normal to feel ashamed that I've been in a community college longer than I should've. Do you have any advice for me??

Sincerely,

Ashamed

Dear Ashamed,

It's totally normal to feel frustrated at not graduating as soon as you would have liked, but there's really NOTHING to be ashamed of!!! 

You are still in college and THAT is what is important. Congratulations! Seriously. You're still going and that says a lot about you.

I'm so happy to hear you've finally found what you want to major in. Keep going and try to go full time as much as possible so that you can start to move forward and transfer on to get your bachelor's degree. It doesn't matter how long it takes. 

I knew one amazing woman who took 10 years to get her AA and Bachelor's degree (she was single mom) and was accepted into a Harvard leadership program.

Your effort and dedication are what counts, not how long or how fast you get your degree.

Keep it up and enjoy your classes. If you have any other questions along the way feel free to reach out. Good luck!!!

Sincerely,

Isa

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