At G.C.C., this is about the time when teachers start evaluating how well students understand the material by giving them their first exam. I took my math exam last week, and I’ve got biology, and history exams this week. (Psst…I think they’re watching us…and talking to each other.)

What does it feel like? Well, my math exam went excellent and I think my history exam will go the same. As far as biology is concerned, I know I need to devote a lot of study time to that subject in order to feel confident and ready for the exam. That’s often how it goes for me with BIO, and we’re all different. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You may achieve an A on one exam with 1-2 hours’ worth of studying, and get the same grade on a different subject’s exam with 5-7 hours of review. It’s crazy! Why do our brains work that way? It can feel downright unfair to get a grade lower that what was striven for when a lot of effort is put into studying. But on the other hand, remembering answers easily simply because you sat in lecture feels amazing. It’s different for each subject, and for each of us. What information you retain may not be the same type I do. That’s what makes studying with other people so beneficial and us, as a student body, so beautiful.

Lately I’ve been feeling like the old myth is really true. It’s impossible to study well, sleep well, and keep a healthy social life. Sacrifices do need to be made. Since I’ve come to G.C.C., I’ve always been the type of person to give my studies the first priority, then sleep, then socializing. But this semester I’ve noticed that I’ve throw sleep on the chopping block more times than social activities. It’s happens because I put a social activity above homework, and then stay up all night trying to finish the assignment. I end up being social, academically successful, but sleepy and drained.

This isn’t good for me because I feel more optimistic and alert when I’ve had 7-8 hours of sleep. But there is hope and it’s good to notice bad habits early in the semester.  If I adjust now, the rest of the semester should go much smoother. I know I talked a lot about myself in this blog, but I hope that I talked about you as well. We are all college students and sometimes we go through similar things. Its first exams time but don’t fret, study well, study according to your needs, study with friends, and don’t forget to sleep. Catch you guys next time and I hope you all enjoyed the homecoming weekend!