Spring Break Vacay

This Spring Break was really quite calm compared to the time I spent out on my last few, but it was more enjoyable for me then the ones I spent jam-packed with plans. It was truly a stay at home vacation. And even with the fun, I got two dog sitting jobs, and spent the free times with puppies!

In all, not much happened till Wednesday. Sunday afternoon was spent with an old friend, catching up on each other’s lives. She is one of my closest friends as well, and it was nice since we haven’t talked in a while. I think those are my favorite friendships, those low-maintenance ones that you can call after a few months and still laugh with. Monday and Tuesday were equally uninteresting, as I spent my hours cleaning, listening to music, and browsing social media. All and all, peaceful.

Once Wednesday hit, I started going out. I went to market with my mother, afterwards going to my dual credit college advisory meeting. After a few hours in between, I went to see Zootopia with my mother as well. I am a huge animation fan, especially anything Disney. It was actually a lot better than I expected, quite realistically addressing issues of racism and prejudice. It also had a twisted plot, and turned out very differently than I expected or any scenario I planned out. Afterwards, my parents went out to see a movie, and I got to relax in my room for the evening.

Thursday was active. My mother, father and I took our Pit Bull Thor out with us to the Prehistoric Track-ways’ ridge-line trail. We did not expect the hike to as strenuous as it was, as we would have brought Athena (our German Shepard- a working dog). Thor was ill-suited for the trail, and 1 ½ miles in, we had to stop and turn back. Thor was very tired, and obviously overheated. The ride home consisted of listening to his heavy pants from the back of the car for 25 minutes.

Friday might have been one of my favorite days of break, as I got to invite two of my friends from school over! I brought my friends Ally & Maya to the WSMR Aquatic Center’s Flick n’ Float night, and we got the whole event to ourselves (plus the pool staff)! They were showing the first Hunger Games movie. Afterwards, we stopped at McDonald's before dropping Ally off at her house, while Maya slept over at my house! We ended up not sleeping till after midnight because of the movie timing.

Saturday was and early rising, and my Dad took Maya & I to IHOP for breakfast. Once her parents picked her up, I went back to bed for a much needed siesta. I woke up mid-afternoon and rushed to a coffee meeting I was having with a church friend at Spirit Winds. I had never been there before, and I think it is incredible! I have a special liking to their incense scents and fruit teas.

Sunday was the top of the cake. I went to church, and my parents went hiking while I stayed home till my Youth group at 4pm, and I ended up tripping and scraping my knee less than 3 minutes into the first game. Everyone loves to make jokes as to how I am our group’s most clumsy member, though the oldest.

I am so happy with the time I got to spend with my friends, church, and parents. I don’t often get to spend much quality time with my parents, so it was nice ^^ 

How to Be a Better College Student Alejandra Delgado, Jerica Gomez, and Christopher Hinojosa

The transition from high school to college can be one of the most daunting that someone can make. In some aspects, they are exactly the same. You have to go to class, finish homework, and study for exams. The thing about college however, is that the stakes are raised exponentially. Your performance in college will dictate the money you make and the career you get.

We’ve all heard the old saying “C’s get degrees”, but in reality this is far from the truth. Realistically speaking, employers are always going to choose a candidate that has a higher GPA because it shows them that you are a competent and hard worker. For these reasons, we have chosen to write this blog and our lecture project about how to become a better college student in order to maintain a high GPA and grow a stronger work ethic.

Jerica - My tips to becoming a better college student including taking your first semester seriously. It’s hard to adjust to the difference of being in highschool and having your hand held once you enter college you are all on your own, it's up to you to take the initiative to do your assignments and to turn them in on time. Professors are there to teach you its up to you if you want to learn. I’ve been in college for a while now and even the little things we didn’t think mattered that much our first few semester come back later when you're trying to get accepted into a program that is very competitive and you tried your best.

My second tip is to use your time wisely. Time management is probably the most important part of being a successful student. We are all busy in our crazy lives outside of school it's important to make time for the assignments and studying we have to do for school. Setting aside a specific time for school work such as studying and doing homework will be beneficial to you because you get to learn the material at your own pace and can be ahead of the game by not having to rush at the last minute.

My third tip is being organized, organization can make all the difference especially if you are taking multiple classes. I personally use different binders for each class with dividers and tabs separating the different kinds of assignments. Using a planner to  lay out your schedule of when your assignment are due and other kinds of techniques to keep yourself organized is the a great tip to be a successful college student.

My last tip to being a successful college student is to have a good support system. We need to surround ourselves with people who want the best of us and want us to succeed, and try our best not to have people who want to push you away from your future to go out and have fun. We all need a little fun in our lives but we have to put what's most important first and having fun come after.

Chris - During my first year at DACC, I was kind of just “winging it”. Whenever we had upcoming assignments I would never write them down, opting to just try to remember them and hope for this best. This would often result in me getting bad grades on quizzes that I would forget to study for.

To combat this, I did some research and realized that I can import my Canvas calendar into my Google Calendar. After this I was able to create a Google Calendar widget on my phone and put it on my home screen so whenever I unlock my phone my agenda of homework is easily viewable.

My current home screen, showing my upcoming assignments.

Along with this, my second tip to become a better college student would be to print out your syllabus’, hole punch them, and then place them into a binder so they are easy to access. This has saved me from having to take the time to log into Canvas, navigate to the class in question, and then click the link to the PDF copy of the syllabus.

Alejandra- I’m a near finishing junior at Arrowhead Park Early College High School, and have been going to DACC classes for two semesters. I’m still not very amazing at it. But I have pulled a few trips out of the little experience as a Duel Credit Student I have.

Number One, DO NOT IGNORE THE WORK. It is not like the rest of the high school classes, you have to keep track of assignments and do the work. The professors are different from high school teachers, and will expect you to pull the same weight as the adults. Let them and your classmates know that you and other kids your age can pull that weight. I have definitely faulted that a few time, and realized how horrible an idea it was. Not only does it project a poor image, it sends your grades spiraling downwards, and that is really hard to repair.

Number Two, spend your free periods wisely. The off-campus college classes are often at different times than the LCPS school schedule, so you’ll have some free time. And yeah, it’s okay to take a little time to talk, there’s also a lot of work to do so that you can graduate with a HS diploma and an Associate’s degree. Spending two or three class periods between classes gossiping and messing around can not only get you in trouble with campus security, but also with your grades.

In conclusion, it's not difficult becoming the best college student you can be. It takes hard work, hours of dedication, and a strong work ethic. We had a great time creating this blog post and lecture, and we hope that the tips we have given you help you get the degree and job that you are working towards.

Chris’ Blog: http://chrish67.blogspot.com/

Alejandra’s Blog: http://acdn240662.blogspot.com/

Jerica’s Blog: http://jericasadventures.blogspot.com/