![\"\"](\"\/comblog\/files\/2017\/01\/635874427095667001527986993_Funny-New-Year-03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The New Year is all about resolutions.\u00a0 It\u2019s out with the old and in with the new you.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re like me, you know not to set unreachable goals.\u00a0 You need to keep your expectations somewhat close to reality, so that you don\u2019t get too discouraged and completely abandon your new and improved habits.\u00a0 This is why I like to keep it vague.\u00a0 If you set the goal, \u201cBe a better person,\u201d you could technically accredit all the little random acts of kindness you do as sticking to your resolutions.\u00a0 Which is much easier than pledging to exercise or complete a long-term project.<\/p>\n
I also like to keep this New York Times article<\/a> in my back pocket as a reference to keep me on track to Be A Better Person in the New Year.\u00a0 And with the spring semester off to a fresh start at BU, I decided it\u2019s not a bad idea to apply these life guidelines to college as well.\u00a0 Inspired by the NYT piece, here\u2019s 11 Ways to Be a Better College Student in the New Semester.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Live Like Howard Thurman<\/p>\n While I agree that the late fashion photog Bill Cunningham had the right idea about life (if you haven\u2019t seen the documentary<\/a>\u00a0about him, go do that now!), I like to live by Howard Thurman\u2019s words.\u00a0 Thurman, a civil rights leader, former STH\u00a0professor and former dean of Marsh Chapel said, \u201cDon\u2019t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.\u00a0 Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.\u201d<\/p>\n I say: You Test How You Dress<\/p>\n Whenever I take tests in sweats, I struggle to keep my eyes open.\u00a0 It feels like I\u2019m wearing PJs to the exam.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have scientific evidence to back this up, but it\u2019s my firm belief that to feel confident to do well on an exam, you should dress for success.<\/p>\n I say: Ask Your Professor the Small Questions<\/p>\n There are no dumb questions.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want to raise your hand in the middle of class to ask your professor a question, stop by his or her office hours.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t understand something, there\u2019s no shame in getting some clarification.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Get to Know Someone Different From You<\/p>\n The article says some of the best friendships are with people who have different romantic preferences from you.\u00a0 And I think at BU, it\u2019s pretty easy to stick to hanging out with the same exact people\u2014the ones in your major, on your team, in your sorority.\u00a0 If you make the effort to break out of your bubble a little, you could end up with some seriously interesting friendships.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Try Tinder for Fun<\/p>\n People are getting really creative with social networks and even dating apps to bring people together.\u00a0 Apparently, Tinder can now be used to find people to hang out in groups.\u00a0 My friend needed subs on his co-ed intramural soccer team to fill in, so he put out a request on Tinder for a couple of girls to join the game.\u00a0 I\u2019ll check back on how that worked out for him.<\/p>\n I say: Get Rid of Old Stuff in Your Backpack<\/p>\n You\u2019ve had that in there for how long<\/em>? Over the course of last semester, my tote bag collected a heap of gum wrappers, receipts, pennies, and chapsticks.\u00a0 Clean out your school bag to start off a new semester feeling organized.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Pick Somewhere New to Sit<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know how often the average college student hosts a large dinner party, but most of us stick to the same dining halls or the same table in the GSU, even the same seats in class. Try out a new row\u2014maybe the change in scenery will keep your interest up or introduce you to a new study partner.<\/p>\n I say: Pay Attention<\/p>\n Yeah. I think they got this one right. I know I need to stop adding to my online shopping bag, and instead pay attention in class; stop trying to text while I walk, and rather take note of what\u2019s around me.\u00a0 Life moves fast and I don\u2019t want to miss it.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Wear Gym Clothes to Class<\/p>\n I don\u2019t even own an iron.\u00a0 But, I do own some athleisure clothes, and I find that if I wear them to class\u2014particularly my classes near FitRec\u2014I\u2019m more likely to stop by for a HIIT session instead of heading straight home, never to make it back to the gym that day.\u00a0 Wear training shoes and leggings to class, and you\u2019ll have no excuse not to work out after.<\/p>\n I say: And All Other Kinds of Notes<\/p>\n Condolence notes are hard to send.\u00a0 But you know what\u2019s not?\u00a0 A ripped-out notebook page note to your pal sitting next to you to make him laugh during lecture.\u00a0 Or a Boston postcard for your mom to let her know you\u2019re thinking of her.\u00a0 Or a thank-you card to your professor to show your gratitude for the letter of recommendation he wrote.\u00a0 Or a note to your roommate to say, \u201cHey I just ran out to buy eggs, be back soon!\u201d I just love notes.<\/p>\n I say: \u00a0Croon More<\/p>\n Not all of us have someone to cuddle with, and that\u2019s okay.\u00a0 But anyone can turn up the Spotify volume and sing along.\u00a0 Again, no scientific evidence from me that this works, but I think crooning to your favorite John Mayer song or learning all the words to \u201cNo Problem\u201d makes singing an instant mood booster.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ok if you can\u2019t stick to all of these, though. Just BU.<\/p>\n The New Year is all about resolutions.\u00a0 It\u2019s out with the old and in with the new you.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re like me, you know not to set unreachable goals.\u00a0 You need to keep your expectations somewhat close to reality, so that you don\u2019t get too discouraged and completely abandon your new and improved habits.\u00a0 … Continue reading Hannah: 11 Ways to Be a Better College Student in the New Semester<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2018,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44323],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2650"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2868,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650\/revisions\/2868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/comblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"\/comblog\/files\/2017\/01\/123120132356125.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"\"](\"\/comblog\/files\/2017\/01\/new-years-resolution-ecard-funny.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"