Q: Hey Bunky, I’m a freshman, and I know it’s only October, but I already feel like slacking off. Does freshman year really matter?

Sincerely,

Frivolous Freshman.

Dear Frivolous Freshman,

As the school year progresses, it can be hard to keep up the motivation to do your school work, especially if you participate in sports or clubs. A person only has so much energy in day to complete their tasks. Yet, if you mix up how you study and use your time wisely, then getting through your school work should be a breeze!

When you first get home from school, one of the first things everyone wants is sit down and relax after your six hour school day. This is understandable yet can be potentially harmful to your grades. As your physics teacher may say “an object in motion wants to stay in motion, where an object at rest wants to stay at rest.” Your body is also an object and when it gets moving it wants to stay that way. When you get home, try doing your homework immediately. By getting it done right away you avoid procrastinating and have the information fresh in your mind, and you’ll also have the rest of the day to yourself. Similarly, if staring at a black and white text book makes your eyes glaze over, try adding in some color. Studies show that color helps stimulate the brain. This means that when you’re reading a paragraph, find the main topic of the paragraph and put a sticky note next to it. This will not only keep you aware of what you’re reading, it will also keep you interested. If neither of these help you, try looking up some different studying methods to find what’s right for you. Everyone is different, and what you have to do might be different from what your friend has to do.

Despite what people say, your freshman year can have a big impact on what colleges look at in the future. Never fear though, if your grades aren’t as good as you would like them to be, colleges will look at the ones you achieved in your sophomore and junior year as well to see how you improved. Overall, do the best you can and try to keep yourself motivated throughout the year!

Yours Truly,

Bunky.