Advice… take it from a Freshman

Yup, I’m just a freshman, but I thought that, while waiting for the results from my semester, I’d share with y’all my reflections.

The UT South mall on September 11. One flag for each victim… It was a surreal moment for me. It seemed like the clouds felt the same way.

First, I compiled a few great sayings that I’ve picked up that are useful through… all life.

Potential: What you can do

“…90 percent of your potential is not only untapped and unused, but also undiscovered.” – Tim Hansel, qtd: Urban 7.

Passive people: “Bad stuff happens to me.”
Proactive, effective, people: “I happen to bad stuff.”

Understanding: Potential in your brain

Don’t try to make yourself understood, try to help others understand.

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” – Steven Covey

Priorities: Unleashing understanding

There are lots of things out there that are really cool – that’s why I let OTHER people spend their time on it.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” – Isaiah.
I don’t think he was talking to the gardeners here. Connection:
Grass = basic food. Stuff you see (and need) every day.
Flowers = beauty. How long does that REALLY last?

Sigh… :Is imagining misquotations of that statement: for the record: Brian does not eat grass, but maybe Isaiah did. Oh well, I’ll resign myself to this fate.

Urgency: the appearance of being important. Skip urgent stuff for the important stuff.

If you want to procrastinate, put your deadlines in a calendar with dates.
If you want to get them done, put them on a list to tear up when you’re a good boy!

Fads last a week, knowledge lasts a lifetime, but people will last even longer.

Responsibility: Responding to whatever got released

“The Beauty of Grace is that it makes life not fair.” -Relient K

Giving God control doesn’t mean loosing control. It means having complete control.

“Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional” – Tim Hansel

Now… for what no one has been waiting for…
College Specifically

In school, you pay to spend time with teachers. At college, that stops. Now I’m paying to be with really, really smart people.

Who might be teachers, but probably not. That’s the main difference: you have to LEARN proactively, not expect to be TAUGHT.

One hour of study followed by an hour of sleep sure beat two hours of study.

Stay away from dark, scary allies.

While we’re at it, stay away from Greenpeace. They want to talk about whales, not economics. :sheepish grin: Oh yes I did.

Scientists analyse what it, but engineers get to create what has never been.

So I guess that’s all the wisdom I can think of and fit in one post. Oh well. I honestly don’t know what else to add. Lookin’ forward to another semester. And I still want to be an engineer. And, believe it or not, my sense of humor survived.

I have a great future to look forward to. Just check this out: PHD Comics: Motivation.

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