LawrenceOnLife

I wish I was unique enough to say that I’m the only person who procrastinates. I’m not. In fact, ask any university aged student and chances are, they’ll tell you the same thing. They too probably have a routine to try get out of studying. I know I have to study. My grades—my future– depends on it. Yet, I’ll do everything in my power to avoid it.

After what I’ve just said about everything I do to avoid hitting the books, this is going to sound crazy, but I like to study. Hear me out. I like to study. I just hate the part right before it. When I really think about it, there’s nothing inherently bad about leaning. It’s that there’s this notion that when I’m studying, I’m missing out on a lot of different things that I could be doing. Things that, in the present, right now, is more exciting than an old textbook.

When I’m actually writing, researching or studying, I’m too busy to check the time. I don’t notice it tick and tok itself away. Before I know it, the sun is down and the moon is up. And after hours of study, I feel good. I actually did something useful with my time. I learned something. Well, that’s partly a lie. I learned something I need to know. I learn everyday. I just don’t get quizzed on how much I retain or how much I can recall. That’s why I hate school. Memorize. Learn. Write the exam and poof it’s all gone. With that said, I love to learn. But that argument is for another day.

It’s a age old dilemma. Should I sit down, study, and miss everything that goes on in the world as I lose track of time? Or should I constantly connect myself to the ever changing world? Ask my economics professor and his answer is simple enough: what’s the opportunity costs? Well professor. I wish I could tell you. I don’t know. And that’s where my dilemma lies. I don’t want to shut myself out of the world for a couple of hours. I don’t want to fail my classes either.

3.)Study in bits

Take study breaks when needed and do something else. Sitting down for hours on end to cram is no good. Trust me on that. There is no point to sitting down and trying to learn something when you too tired to understand the material. Instead, walk away when what your trying to learn stops making sense and do something else and let your mind refresh. When your back, you’ll have an easier time learning again.

4.)Control yourself

It’s a broad statement that encompasses everything. Don’t be the idiot that’s plastered at the party. Don’t be the idiot that’s staying up all night to finish a paper because you decided to go out the night before. When your tired go to sleep. Don’t click one more episode or play one more game. We all know how that’s going to end up: you staying up all night and falling asleep in class the next day. I can go on and on. You know yourself. Don’t do stuff your going to regret a day or two down the road.

5.)Eat well/ Sleep

I get that ramen is cheap and fast. I know that you don’t have a lot of time. But eating well does wonders to the mood and to how you feel. Eat well. It might cost more and it might take longer, but it’s better than feeling like crap all day. Further, sleep. Don’t force yourself to run on a couple of hours rest every night. You won’t feel good. When there’s time, get that shuteye. You will thank yourself when the lecture material makes a little more sense and when you learn a little faster.

6.)Have fun

University is going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be even better if you are smart about it. Being at home, I didn’t go out every Friday night. I had some friends who did. But they were smart about it. They worked hard. They played hard. Plan your time and get what needs to be done done. Learn how to study. Study in bits. Control yourself. Eat well. Have fun.

I’ve been asked often why I decided to leave. I want to say that I’m off to do bigger and better things, but the honest answer is, I don’t know. The timing just felt right. And while that may sounds crazy, let me tell you myself –it is! There’s nothing I can say that logically justifies what I feel. I can’t put it into words. Like I said, it feels right. That said, I’m going to miss the fantastic pay (17 plus dollars!). I’m going to miss the consistent and predictable guarding breaks. I’m going to miss closing the pool and playing cards between lightning strikes. Truth is, lifeguarding is easily one of the best student jobs there are. It’s fun. But I’ve realized, after more than three years, that like others before me, it’s now my time to move on.

I had a blast my first two years. Maybe it was just me living off the thrill of being new to everything in my first year and then enjoying my job as I got comfortable the second. But I think it was more than that. It was the staff that I got to work with. They were great and taught me a lot. They showed me the ropes and guided me. As they began to leave, others took their place. And slowly, the dynamic slowly began to change. I was no longer the one being taught. I was the one teaching. As the new staff replaced the old, I found myself lost in a really familiar place. It wasn’t the same anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved to pass on what I learned. It helped me get better and it forced me to think about –to put into words what had become second nature. Most of all, it helped understand how far I’d come. And with that realization, I recognized that there wasn’t much left to learn. Teaching others, while great, didn’t satisfy my quench for learning. I want—need, a new challenge.

I’m not the type of person to do something because it pays great. I want to learn. I want to experience. I want to build a repertoire of know-how so that in the future, whenever that is, I get to do what I really want to do as opposed to what I’m skilled to do. I’m aware that I might get a pay cut where I go next. But that’s okay. Money now is great, but I’ll worry about my finances when I look for a career. For now, I’m more interested in experiences that will make me more valuable in the job market of tomorrow. When I graduate I don’t want to be another number in the unemployment statics. I don’t want to be another student looking for work while burdened with crippling debt. So today, while I don’t have to worry about all that, I’ll go as far as working for free if the experience provides me with something valuable. I rather a well-paying career than a well-paying job. I’ll makeup my lost wages then. Besides, I’m more interested in learning about the world, about myself, than about the numbers in my bank account. At least for now. There are too many things to see and do than to worry myself about pay. That said, I do live with my parents so that takes a lot of the financial pressure off.

I’m excited to able to rejoin the world in keeping my underwear for work. It’ll be a nice change. Though I will miss the freedom in being a lifeguard, I’ll also miss the people I worked with, and the children I taught to swim. I’ll miss seeing the disbelief on face on a child who learned something new and the face of a proud parent. I’ll miss all of that.

I never got to jump in the pool. I did however, deal with heart attacks, numerous heat related illnesses, and countless nose bleeds, cuts and bruises. Public Relations was common while calls to the police happened from time to time. I’m glad no one drowned or seriously got injured on my watch. I pride myself in the lack of crazy incidents. I always saw myself as more of a guard of life, rather than a saver of life. If I could prevent accidents, then I didn’t have to preserve life or promote recovery. With that said, with the team I got to work with, tackling even the scariest of incidence didn’t seem like a big deal until it was over. Friends, both old and new, staying and leaving, thank you for making my job easy!