Well, here it is. My final semester at the College of Charleston and it seems like it was just yesterday I was receiving my high school diploma. I transferred to CofC Spring semester of my sophomore year from Franklin Pierce University, a small school in New Hampshire. I came to Charleston to escape the vast nothingness that is New Hampshire (although the seemingly constant snow days is one thing that I miss). The three semesters I spent there went well academically. I was taking 15 credits per semester which put me on the right path to graduate on time. However when I transferred here, a lot of those credits did not transfer, putting me in the unfortunate position of “credit catch up”. For the past five semesters I have taken 18 credits in order to graduate on time. None, however, have been as demanding as the one I am currently experiencing. I realized when signing up for classes last semester that I needed five English classes in order to graduate. Needless to say, I’ve got my hands full with readings, responses, and papers. Though I have never considered them as “virtues” per-se, I have been forced to change the way I manage my life and create my own life guidelines to accomplish my goal to graduate on time.
The first academic virtue I feel is crucial not only for myself, but all students, is time management. After four hours of classes, sometimes its easier to lay down, turn on the t.v. and fill my brain with mind numbing nonsense that has to do with anything but English. Other times, I will look at my planner and realize I have 70 pages to read for one class, 100 for another, an essay and, in this case, a blog post. Though I welcome intellectual stimulation, I sometimes fall behind. I’ve learned that managing my time in a way that allows me to finish school work AND enjoy my last semester in college is crucial. I have by no means perfected this skill but I have come a long way from my high school days of academic “innocence”. I have found that the weekend no longer has the same connotations as it once did. Now I spend a lot of the day time either reading or writing on Saturdays and Sundays. Four years ago, the thought of doing work on a weekend was quite foreign. However, this semester has proven that my new obtained virtue has played a crucial role in my successes (and shortcomings) as a college senior.
