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Wednesday 1.30.2013 | MACE & CROWN | D3
Quarter-Life Crisis: CROWN Monarch Words My An Ode to Adulthood JEWELS ADVICE COLUMN
of Wisdom
Ten Pieces of Advice
for ODU Students By: Eryn Tolley Staff Writer Mace & Crown We’re college students now, so we know everything, right? Well, not exactly. Everyone can use some good advice every now and then, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Thus, I have compiled 10 pieces of advice that I think all students can use. 1.Try not to care too much about your love life (or lack thereof). Relationships in college are like seasons; they come and go. So don’t invest all your energy into people. It’s better to invest your energy into your education, because education can never leave you. 2.If you want to build a relationship, build one with your professors. No, I don’t mean that kind of relationship. You want to have your professors on your good side, and this will come in handy when you’re asking for those references for jobs once you graduate. 3. Get a job. Part of being an adult is getting a decent job where you don’t hate your life every morning that you work there. As a college student, it’s not practical (or healthy) to work 40 hours every week, but having a job will teach you time management skills and the responsibility you will need after college. Talk to the financial aid office about their federal work study program, which allows ODU students to work part time and earn financial aid while attending school. 4. Don’t go to the university bookstore first when buying textbooks. The university bookstore should always be a last resort because the books are almost always more expensive. Try Chegg or Amazon first to rent or buy your textbooks, then sell or return them back to these sites at the end of the semester. You may not get all of your money back, but every little bit helps. 5. Try different internships. Even if you can only get credit for one,
having a few internships under your belt can’t hurt. Internships may not always guarantee you a job, but they do guarantee experience, new connections and sometimes cash. 6. Study abroad. If you want to visit a foreign country, there is no better way to do it than by studying abroad. Studying abroad through the school is not as expensive as you may think, as it’s around the same amount as regular tuition, and many times, financial aid will help you pay for it. Leaving the country will never be easier and more educational. 7. Don’t spend money on brand new, expensive furniture. You’re going to be moving back and forth a lot while you’re in college and you might end up breaking or scratching most of your stuff. If you’re dying to become Suzy Homemaker, try your hand at cheaper DIY projects. If you break or lose anything, at least they were cheap. 8. Try not to stress so much over assignments or tests I know this is easier said than done, but what good will it do to freak out? Freak outs will only mess with your head and your nerves. To cure this, throw on relaxing music, watch your favorite tv show, brew some hot tea and take a deep breath. If you do your best, that’s all that matters. 9. Go to class. You’re paying an arm and a leg for these classes, so go to them! Not going to your classes is like buying a new car and never driving it; it doesn’t really make sense. You came to college for an education, right? You’re not going to get one by skipping class. 10. Have fun This is college, and that means you should have fun before you enter that dark realm we like to call “the real world.” You should be smart about the type of fun you have, obviously, but you should enjoy the next few years of your life.
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By: Megan Stamper Contributing Writer Mace & Crown I was nervous at graduation. I thought I would trip over my feet and I purposefully did not wear cute stilletos like every other girl for that reason. But more than nerves, I was starving... and ready for a drink.
I was nervous at graduation. I thought I would trip over my feet and I purposefully did not wear cute stilletos like every other girl for that reason. The speaker was dry and his speech seemed to me like he had a big Chinese dinner the night before and wrote down all the fortunes from the little bitty papers inside the fortune cookies. He was inspiring, but I could have been just as inspired by a dinner at Jade Garden. I was the last of my high school friends to graduate from my undergraduate studies; the real world was not a very desirable place, so I stayed in school until my parents were fed up with paying for tuition and I exhausted all of my options for classes. The day after I graduated, real life happened. It didn’t happen in a slow motion sort of way; it punched me in the face. Within a 24-hour period, I had a car payment, insurance payment, phone bill, credit card bill and doctor co-payments all faithfully showing up in my mailbox. Not to mention a
mom who passive-aggressively, but more aggressively than passive, “suggests” that I move out as soon as possible a couple times a week. So what do you do when you graduate college and the bills start knocking? You get three jobs. A job is not something that I was necessarily qualified to have after I graduated. I was one of the lucky ones, though; I had connections to get me a little part-time office job editing documents and writing blogs. The problem is after college if you are lucky enough to get a job, you will inevitably work for peanuts and probably part-time. This is a part of the “quarter life crisis” phenomenon: you are in your mid-20s, just graduated from college, and you want everything while you’re young enough to enjoy it, but you cannot afford anything. During your quarter life crisis you will ask yourself a lot of questions. Did I have enough sex in college? Is my GPA high enough to get into graduate school someday? What kind of job can I really get with a degree in “whatever you studied?” While you may want to focus on regrets during this quarter life stage in your life, I try to focus on the positive aspects of my college career. A degree in English gave me a lot of positive experiences. I read a lot of great novels, I learned how to read “The Canterbury Tales” in Middle English, and I can rationalize correcting my friends’ grammar on Facebook. I’m not a b****, I just have an English degree. I don’t regret anything, and I am learning how to be an adult. My life consists of working, cramming for the GRE and drinking wine basically every day. I know graduating college can be tough, but I would say I am doing pretty swell.
By. Brian Jerry Senior Writer Mace & Crown
It’s only fitting that this week’s Crown Jewels goes to Good Morning America anchor, Robin Roberts. Roberts recently returned to New York City for the first time since undergoing a bone marrow transplant surgery that forced her off the air. But she’s since made her way back to the city to do a few private “GMA” test runs to determine when she’s physically ready to come back to the show. Roberts announced, on the June 11 show last year, that she had been diagnosed with MDS or myelodysplastic syndrome. She was a recipient of her sister Sally-Ann Roberts, who was almost an exact match for the surgery. The longtime 52-year old host was advised by doctors two weeks ago to do a series of un-aired dry runs of hosting GMA before officially returning on-air. Roberts went home from the hospital on October 11, three weeks after undergoing the successful transplant. This is not the first time Roberts has fought adversity in her life and career. Six years ago in the summer of 2007, she announced she was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer. But after completing eight weeks of chemotherapy treatment (with six and a half weeks of radiation treatment), Roberts was cleared to resume her hosting gig and even published a book entitled, “From the Heart: Several Rules to Live By” of which she said, “I’m a big believer that you have to put yourself in position for good things to happen to you.” Well I must say Mrs. Roberts, your will to continue to carry on inspires many others to push themselves, even in trying times and situations. Thus, I’m proud to give this shiny jewel to you and know you will keep fighting in spite of the hurdles that come your way.