Taking the 'Pro' out of procrastination

   Let's face it, we all put the 'pro' in 'procrastination' way more often than we should.  It's a fact of life that as we grow up, we avoid doing things we should and end up rushing to do three hours of work in 30 minutes.  I find myself procrastinating daily, and regretting every time as I rush to write a 6 page paper or vacuum the entire house in half the time it should take me.  Even over this last weekend I had to write four posts on my Philosophy class's blog, and I didn't write any of them until 16 hours before they were due.  It's idiotic how much time I spend twiddling my thumbs, catching up on shows I don't even watch and reading the same Facebook posts 10 times.  Maybe we are hard wired for being lazy until the last possible minute, but I doubt that.  I think the truth is more along the lines of, unless we are in the perfect environment for our personal learning, we find it very hard to actually focus, buckle down and do work.  Unfortunately, unless we find that perfect environment, we will forever be stuck in a limbo of procrastination and then rushing at the last minute.

    Figuring out where that perfect environment is can be hard.  For some people, it's the library.  But that's easy to figure out, it's the first place you go when you know you really have to hit the books.  I hate the library, though; It's kind of like a homework hell.  Some people find an empty classroom, or just an empty room in general.  Others do really well just sitting at a desk or on their bed in their room.  Yet, none of these places work for me.  My place is a Starbucks, or a coffee house similar to Starbucks.

    I reached a point during my freshman year of college where I was absolutely miserable.  I felt stuck in my room, stuck with just five or so friends, and lonely when none of them were available.  I always felt like I was doing nothing.  I went through a period of time where I was depressed.  This feeling isn't like depression, it's not that hard hitting, and it's much easier to come out of, but it still sucks.  I felt depressed for about four weeks before I did something about it.  At this point I called up a counselor, and made an appointment.  But before I even went to the counselor, I changed one little thing in my life.
    On my college campus, we have a building called Crosby Student Center.  Basically, it's like the social center of campus.  Our mail room is based out of Crosby, there is a coffee shop, tons of tables, big comfy couches and it's always busy.  But it has a feeling about it that just makes it feel like home.  Crosby also puts on an event every Wednesday night where live music comes in and they perform for about an hour.  Fittingly, it's called Coffee House.  One of my friends and I decided to go one night, about 5 weeks before school got out.  And this one little choice changed my college life.  I figured out in that one visit that if I wanted to get homework done, study, or socialize with more people, Crosby was going to be my place.  After that I spent hours there every week, actually doing homework.  There was even one week where I had all of my homework done for the entire next week, and it was only Thursday night of the week before.  I had finally taken the 'pro' out of 'procrastination.'

    What is hard about college life, however, is that then you have to return to your home, and readjust how you get things done at home, too.  I took a six week online class this summer, and I spent the first five weeks barely making the deadlines.  I have one week left, and I am planning on spending a lot of time at a Starbucks.
    What makes it work for me is the white noise, the fact that I know I could have a conversation with almost anyone, but know that I also need to focus.  What also makes it great is I can get coffee whenever I need... and who doesn't love that?

<3 Katelynn René

So it's after 2 am...

Like I said in my last post, and according to How I Met Your Mother, nothing good ever happens after 2am...

And if this sign isn't proof enough, then I don't know what is.  Yet, it's 3:30 in the morning right now and I am doing just dandy.... Well, maybe.

In all reality, I am sad my freshman year is over.  I will never again be a freshman, or have the experience of meeting a bunch of new people that I don't even know exist who are all my age.  And while on one hand, I should be thankful, on the other hand I am mostly sad because I can never re-do any part of my freshman year again.  

I'm also having to pack up my room right now, and reflecting on all the fun times I had this year, and the things I will miss most about freshmen year!  Such as...

1) Having all my best friends within yelling distance

2) Spikes... It will never be back

3) Weirdly enough, my dorm. (I don't really like it very much)

4) Being able to go to CM on the weekends... That's a place only freshmen go

5) Weirdly enough, the COG. We can never eat there again.

6) Yelling (or meowing) out my window at the people who walk by

7) Going to bed at 3am just because

8) Late night talks until 5:30am

9) Randomly walking back to my dorm at ungodly hours of the night

10) Having to talk through the previous evening with all of my friends because we all did something different. (Actually the funniest thing ever)

11) Walking around the neighborhood with people you don't really know.  That how to make friends in nothing flat!

12) Overusing every phrase that we think is funny

13) Taking pictures of all the random stuff we do

14) Meeting new people every weekend

15) Having show marathons for hours on end

16) Random dance parties

17) Being able to laugh about pretty much everything that happens

18) Pulling all-nighters on the day before my last final (but not actually studying)

19) Making decisions at midnight, such as running through a broken sprinkler just because we can

20) Making memories that I can look back on for the rest of my life and not regret


That's just what comes to my me right off the top of my head... I know there are more things I will miss, but these things seem to be the most obvious, at least for me.

I definitely can't wait to get back for next year.  I just want the next four months to be over so I can be back on campus surrounded by my best friends again!  So as I finish packing up my room, I am trying to look forward to next year rather than be sad that this year is over... But right now I just want to be sad that the end of the year is here.

And until I get back to GU in the fall, keep it real Gonzaga. <3

-Katelynn René

(This post was reviewed in the morning, but written at 3 am. Go me)

Nothing Good Ever Happens After Midnight.

Here I am, 12:55am on the day of my last final for Freshman year, and rather than sleeping I suddenly decided that I was going to start a blog.  But the best decisions are made after midnight, right?  Well, I think it's actually nothing good ever happens after 2am according to How I Met Your Mother, but whatevs... We can hope something good will come out of this.

So before I go to sleep, I figured I would take a moment to reflect on the last 8 months.  I arrived at Gonzaga University as a freshman and knew absolutely no one.  Like no one.  At all.  Basically, I was a little loner.  But next thing I knew I was meeting people and making friends.  Now here I am, at the end of my freshman year and I can't believe how far I've come, how many friends I have made and how much fun I've had.  

Lets just make a quick list to realize how much things can change in less than a year;

1) I went from being an only child, to living in a dorm with 40 other freshmen girls.  Sounds small, and like it wasn't much of a transition, I know. But truth is, despite how much I hated how small my dorm was by the end of the year, I think I would have hated a big dorm at the beginning of the year.  Plus, I've learned how to live with others, that knocking before entering a room is a good thing no matter what time of day it is, and that we have way too much fun procrastinating.

(BTW, nothing like this ever happened, it's just too funny... Plus I love cats)

You also learn very quickly that the walls are far too thin, there are people you won't get along with and that every roommate has their flaws...  Some more than others...

All in all, living in a dorm is a great experience, no matter how much you like or dislike your specific dorm.  The friends you make are unforgettable and the laughs too many to count.   And next thing you know, having a roommate is the best thing ever and having people to be around 24/7 is wayyy better than being at home and sitting on the couch on a Saturday night with a bowl of ice cream watching HIMYM with mom and dad.

2) At first, it may seem like you will never make friends, but by the first weekend you will be going to dinner with girls from your dorm and chances are you will have found at least one person who is willing to pretty much be your best friend.  They may not be your roommate, and that's great!  In my case, my roommate and I didn't really click. Like at all. But the girl two doors down and I get along great... And now we are roommates instead.  The only thing better than that is having a group of friends to spend time with, and that comes with time.  Next thing you know you have all new friends and while alone time is great, being with them is better. 

3) Speaking of alone time... Wait... What is that again? I went from having alone time most of the time at home (I'm an only child... so that's normal for me) to never having any.  Those five minutes you get alone on a Wednesday night when your roommate hasn't come back from dinner yet and all your friends are 'doing homework' are the most precious minutes of the day. Swear to God.  THE BEST. You also learn quickly that if you want to get homework done, you either have to lock your door or leave the room/dorm. 

                                       

 For me, I'd go to the student center.  But that's besides the point...  It's kinda like when you want to be alone, you have to leave not only the room, but the dorm, and probably the campus too.  Or take a shower... I mean, which ever fits best into your schedule.

4) One last thing that changes drastically is (at least for me) what you do on the weekends.  At home, I was a total homebody.  I wanted to be at home with my cat (and parents, I guess) every weekend.  That's just what I did, and sometimes I would see friends.  But in college that all changes.  Whether you go out and get drunk every weekend, or just go to the movies, the weekends are way more fun that they probably were at home.  Like, what do I do now when I go home?  I don't want to sit at home on Friday nights anymore!  

I can't wait to get back to college in the fall just so I can have fun again without having to ask mom and dad if I can go out.  

Freshmen year here at GU made me realize just how much things can change in a year.  But I wouldn't take any of it back for a moment, nor would I change where I go to school.  I love this place way too much for that!  

And in regards to freshman year,  I think if anyone could be a college freshman again, no one would turn down the opportunity.  I know I certainly wouldn't.

So now that I'm finishing the post up (It's actually 10:30am now, I got tired last night) I can't believe this year is over... But on to the next; I'm already excited to come back!  And as for it being after midnight when I started this, I think it was a pretty great choice.

-Katelynn René