Should I Take a Summer Course?

With summer break right around the corner, you may find yourself debating on whether or a summer course is right for you. Check out the pros and cons listed below, you may come up with your own ideas to add to the lists!

Pros:

• Gets general education courses/electives out of the way

• Keeps you in the rhythm of school

• Smaller course loads during the fall and spring to focus on more difficult classes

• Shorter classes since the summer courses do not last the same length as a full semester

Cons:

• Less downtime in the summer to unwind/relax

• Harder to get a summer job because it affects your availability

• Less variety in the selection of courses to take

• Shorter classes can make the course fast paced potentially causing you to fall behind

Who Doesn't Want Free Money?

Finding and applying for scholarships can be tedious, time consuming, and straight up annoying. It doesn't have to be that way though! Below are a few tips to make your scholarship search smoother and more effective.

1. Start searching ASAP. Begin your searching in the summer, and continue throughout the school year.
2. Answer any and all optional questions on scholarship matching websites- it makes it easier to find one to match your needs.
3. Use free scholarship matching services! It allows you to use a little less effort.
4. Keep an eye out for local scholarships or any scholarships through a parent's employer.
5. Tailor your application responses to the sponsor's goal of the scholarship.
6. Create a special calendar just for scholarships in order to keep deadlines organized.
7. Apply to ALL scholarships that you are eligible for, especially less competitive ones. It doesn't matter if they are for a smaller amount of money. Anything will help, and multiple scholarships will add up.
8. Personalize your essay and be passionate about whatever you're talking about-even if the passion is a little far-fetched.
9. Create an email address specifically for scholarships.
10. Keep copies of your applications.

Seeing is Believing! The Law of Attraction and Outcome Visualization.

The law of attraction is easy to understand; whatever thoughts you allow to manifest in your brain, and which thoughts you choose to feed into, can determine your reality.  Think positively, and positive things will come your way, think negatively, and the world will give you negativity. Maya Angelou once said, "A solitary fantasy can transform a million realities."

Outcome visualization works like this: Your brain is the command center of your body, as you know. Every thought you have affects your body in some way. By visualizing yourself accomplishing your goals, it actually gives you more confidence and primes your body to take action on your goal. It is most effective if your vision is detailed and involves all the senses. Furthermore, don't just visualize the end goal, visualize the process. Say you want to run a marathon. Visualize yourself crossing that finish line, but also visualize your legs pumping, your arms relaxed, your breathing steady, the wind whipping past you.

Now, obviously, you cant just think about something and expect it to fall in your lap. Visualize, then TAKE ACTION!

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-niles-phd/visualization-goals_b_878424.html.

"Goal" for the Gold!

I get it - By this point in the semester, all you can think about is summer vacation! Although warmer weather is right around the corner, it's important not to lose sight of the tasks you will be facing during the remainder of the school year. Setting goals gives you short-term motivation to achieve your long-term visions. Here are some goal-setting strategies to get the ball rolling:

1) Keep Them Few in Number - Productivity studies who that you really can't focus on more than 5 - 7 tasks at one given time.

2) Make Them SMART - Strive to make your goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

3) Write Them Down - When you write something down, you are stating your intention and setting things into motion.

4) Review Them Frequently - You can review them daily, weekly, or monthly - It's up to you - They key is to let them inspire and populate your daily tasks.

5) Share Them Selectively - Try not to share you goals with anyone who isn't committed to helping you achieve them.



Find Your Motivation

It's that time of year when it is super easy to slack off. Don't get lost in the lack of motivation! Below are a few strategies to help you combat the lack of motivation!

Just 5 Minutes: 5 minutes of apathy is usually enough time to break through your apathy. Get through the first 5 minutes and find yourself making process!


Use Your Body to Trick Your Brain: Stop slouching, start moving, and laugh!


Chase the Flow: Don't put off a challenging task. Simply get started and you'll find yourself in a flow of productivity.


Plan Tomorrow Tonight: Create a to-do list the night before to start your morning off strong!


Get the Right Tools: Some tools can overwhelm you and make work harder. Find tools you enjoy using in order to prevent procrastination.


Use Inspiring Quotes: Cheesy motivational posters exist for a reason. Hang some up in your work space!


Rock Out: Playing music can eliminate distractions and put you in a good mood. That increases your productivity!


Don't Be a Perfectionist: Impossible standards guarantee stress and procrastination.


Remind Yourself of Your Goals: Once you have your goals in mind, post them somewhere that you will see them every day. Looking at them will inspire you to work hard.


Turn to TED Talks: Watch a TED Talk to help understand yourself. Learn why we are prone to procrastination.


Help others: Teaching others helps you practice the material and find out how much you actually know. It also helps you gain confidence.


Don't Force It: Motivation only lasts so long. When you start to feel tired, don't fight it. Go get something to eat, take a nap, or just relax. Allow your body to refuel.


Rethink Your Process: Motivation isn't always the problem. Maybe you dislike a particular way of doing something-try to do it a different way!


Picture Yourself Succeeding: Doing this give your brain a rush of dopamine. Dopamine is directly related to motivation.


Get a Pep Talk: Watch a Kid President video or talk to someone close to you. Pep talks can be very encouraging to get you pumped to be productive.
 
Celebrate Your Achievements: At the end of each day, review your accomplishments. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and doing this will help you see how far you have come.

Read more at https://www.wrike.com/blog/simple-motivation-tips-infographic/

Sell Yourself with Your Resume

Building your resume can be tricky! The key to a great resume is using descriptive words to display your strengths. Different action words are more appropriate for some jobs rather than others. The following link displays lists of words that work better for the type of job you are searching for.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/selling-yourself-in-a-resume-with-action-words.html

Use the above link to find the best words to spice up your resume!

If you're unsure of how to format or get started with your resume, there are many templates that can also be found online!

Food For Thought

Eating healthy is good for both your mental and physical health! The brain requires nutrients, just like your heart, lungs, or muscles. Here are some foods that will keep your grey matter happy and healthy!

1) Binge on Blueberries - Evidence suggests that blueberries may be effective in improving or delaying short-term memory loss.


2) Eat More Tomatoes - There is good evidence to suggest that lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, could help protect against the kind of free radical damage to cells which occurs in the development of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's.


3) Pick Up Pumpkin Seeds - Just a handful of pumpkin seeds a day is all you need to get your recommended daily amount of zinc, vital for enhancing memory and thinking skills.


4) Bet On Broccoli - A great source of vitamin K, which is known to enhance cognitive function and improve brainpower.


5) Sprinkle On Sage - Sage has long had a reputation for improving memory and although most studies focus on sage as an essential oil, it could be worth adding fresh sage to your diet too.


6) Eat Oily Fish - Oily fish contains EPA and DHA in a ready-made form, which enables the body to use it easily. The main sources of oily fish include salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards and kippers. Low DHA levels have been linked to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.


7) Opt for Whole Grains - The ability to concentrate and focus comes from the adequate, steady supply of energy - in the form of glucose in our blood to the brain. Achieve this by choosing whole grains with a low-GI which release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, keeping you mentally alert throughout the day.

Having a nourishing, well rounded diet gives our brain the best chance of avoiding disease. Incorporate these foods into your diet and you'll be on your way to a better brain!

Baby steps!

Motivation comes from the confidence gained when accomplishing small goals towards a dream!

Making more smaller, attainable goals that add up to a larger goal is much more beneficial that just setting one big goal. This is because you are continuously attaining those smaller goals and feeling your progress as you go. Seeing progress is where the motivation stems from; if you work out for a month and cant see any improvement, you may quit because you feel discouraged, but if you set small goals like going an extra 5 miles on the treadmill, you can see the outcome of the work you are putting in! 

Basic Rules of Setting Goals:

*Be real with yourself in how long your big dream will take to achieve. 

Measure the trajectory of someone who has already accomplished the goal you wish to achieve to get an accurate prediction of the time needed. 

*Determine milestones, or steps, in the process of achieving your goal. 

If you want to get an A on your biology test, you should start studying for a half hour, then raise the bar to one hour, and increases days of studying the closer you get to your test. 

Remember to set SMART goals!

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant/Realistic

Time-bound

5 Hobbies to Make You SMARTER

Although our weather lately has been remarkable considering that is it January, you may find yourself stuck inside with nothing to do. Below is a link to an info graphic that displays five different hobbies that engage your brain ultimately making you smarter. Take a look!

http://proessaywriter.net/5-hobbies-that-can-make-you-smarter/

-ASM Meghan :)

STOP! You're reading that textbook all wrong!

What if I told you, that you should be reading your textbooks BACKWARDS!?


How many hours have you spent reading your textbook chapter front to back, word for word, and when you get to the end, you have no idea what you just read? Well, I'm about to change you life. Textbooks don't usually have a plot leading up to a big dramatic ending, their purpose is to inform and educate, not entertain; different purposes, mean different methods of reading. Here's how you should tackle that chapter:


step 1. flip right to the back and read over those chapter questions. Answer some if you can. This will prep your brain and help you sort out what is important.


step 2. Read the summary. Get the big ideas and main jist of what the chapter is about.


step 3. Read the introduction. This may add some context to what you are about to read.


step 4. Pick out the main ideas. This is easy because they are usually big and bold!


step 5. Scan the section for important supporting details of the big bold heading.


Step 6. Make sure you have those key terms down. THIS IS KEY!


Happy Reading!