#comeback tag

1.) put your last semester behind you. you already know you need to work hard, and you’re likely being really hard on yourself if you’re at this point. now you need to start doing everything, absolutely everything, you can to ensure you succeed. and that means being disgustingly, relentlessly optimistic. you have to shake off any perceived shortcomings and failures, and instead make them goals. sometimes remembering doing poorly can seem like a motivator, but I’ve found that nothing is nearly as good as the power of ambitious thinking. I make a list and say, this is what I am going to do, rather than a list of what I want to do or what I am not going to do, and that’s it. you make the list and start working, everything else is a waste of your time and energy. you may have to do this multiple times a day. if you don’t think the last hour went well, move on and make the next one count. it’s hard, but it’s so worth it. 

2.) never reevaluate in the moment. you know yourself best, but you may need to adjust your list of things you are going to do or tweak parts of it as you go. this isn’t a failure or a shortcoming, it’s working smart and using your time and energy effectively. however, never reevaluate your schedule or goals in the moment. when you decide while you are working on something that your goal is too ambitious or that you’ve scheduled too much, you give yourself excuses, and you often set yourself up to feel disappointed after the fact. power through today, and reevaluate when you are more removed from the situation. you’ll feel better about yourself, and you’ll know if something was really too hard, or if you should have tried a little harder. 

3.) have others hold you accountable. I am terrible at holding myself to my own deadlines or standards, and I know many of my friends are too. so to combat this, I drag other people into my goals. this can look like a lot of things, but my most common ones are making groups to do homework together (even if we just sit silently together) and calling my mom and telling her my plans for the day/week. This means I have to do the work when I say I will, or I’ll have to explain why I didn’t to my friends or parents, and my productivity has skyrocketed. 

4.) see a mental health professional (or non-professional like an advisor or a personal mentor) and discuss your stress mechanisms. you’re likely in a situation where you a juggling an immense amount of stress, and often people who are used to succeeding have non-standard stress responses that they aren’t even aware of. having someone go over this with you and decide if you’re handling yourself in a healthy way that will let you succeed is amazingly useful, because you may not realize that you have unhealthy or just unusual habits. it can also help identify if you have something else going on, like a learning disability or chronic mood or anxiety disorder, which you may be working around without knowing it, and then you can receive the support you need to really take you to the next level. being smart and generally successful does not mean you aren’t coping with mental illness or disability, you may just be coping with it very well, and you may need help with things that don’t boil down to “I didn’t try hard enough”. 

5.) be candid with professors. go to office hours and tell your professor you’re feeling overwhelmed. whether it’s because you feel there is immense pressure on you to succeed, you feel you aren’t picking up material fast enough/as fast as your classmates, or you just have too many things due that week, let your professor know. don’t necessarily phrase the conversation as asking for an extension, etc., just explain that you feel like there’s too much happening right now and you are looking for their opinion and advice as the person running the course. I have found that more often than not, if I am able to be up front with a professor about my workload and current emotional state, they are more than willing to work with me and support me. even just hearing from a professor that they believe you have the ability to succeed means a lot if you are questioning your qualifications. I highly recommend this. 

6.) find something that always makes you feel better. shaking off anxiety is incredibly difficult, and you don’t do your best work when you’re stressed. the thing that really helps me and I’ve seen help others (from other undergrads to fields medalist cedric villani) is laying on the ground with your eyes closed for ~five to ten minutes. I ignore that this looks dumb, I will do it anywhere and everywhere (library, dorm, student lounge, exam room, gre waiting room, literally anywhere), and it always helps me feel centered and focused. doing your best is much more important than people thinking you look silly, so find what works for you, and always do it. 

7.) specifically regarding your gpa, make a meeting with your academic advisor and let them know what you want, and ask them how to get there. don’t be ashamed, ever, because it is important that you set yourself up for success. I had to retake general chemistry one, and it was hard the first times I said that to someone, because I was not used to falling short and I felt I reflected poorly on me. however, I found that what reflect amazingly well on me was being able to admit failure and analyze it so I could do better the next time. I found people respected me for it, I stopped being embarrassed, and my gpa obviously recovered quite a bit when I replaced the D- with an A-. again, be candid with your professor, let them know what you feel went wrong in the past, and combat it this time. 

8.) with specific regards to research, email professors you know have worked with undergrads before. look at what they’ve published recently, decide what part of this interests you, and mention it in the email. if they don’t email you back, go to their office hours and ask in person; they may not be the type who’s great with emails. if they don’t have office hours, wait outside a department faculty meeting and corner them when they leave. the worst thing they can do is say no, and this is literally how I got my first position. if there’s a professor who you know is good with undergrads, consider working with them even if their research isn’t you’re end goal because a) it is good to try other things and diversify your skills and b) your advisor is almost more important than the actual research in the beginning, because this person will be writing you letters, will be helping you develop as an academic, and potentially has an amazing network they can introduce you to. having a good research experience in something you’re not totally sold on is much more helpful to you than an eh experience in your “preferred” subfield.