Just a forewarning: this post is rather lengthy.
This is a series I am starting called 'Common College Life'. Each 'Common College Life' post will address some sort of topic or issue that is typical for a college student to face and then provide biblically based wisdom and advice on how to go about the chosen situation or category of the week. Basically, these posts will serve as how I believe Christ calls us to be in certain college experiences. My hope is that these posts serve as information, help, and encouragement to current and prospective college students. College is a challenging time of life as it is, and often we forget to have Christ-like attitudes in the midst of all the change. My first year of college helped me realize how much I needed the Lord. By delving into the Word and knowing His character more, I was able to sort through the challenges that college presented during my freshman year and stay firm in the faith. I know that future years will bring new and different situations, but I know that the Lord leads and proves Himself faithful when sought. Apart from God, nothing is able to have full life, but with God all things are possible.
The first topic I am choosing to blog about is incredibly basic but at times altering to one's college experience: studying.
It's not a concept that takes much to understand, and as far as morality or philosophy goes, it's really not deep at all. It's more of a shallow 'issue' on the spectrum of college challenges, but nonetheless it is a category that every college student must face, and, believe it or not, there is a way to actively pursue studying in a Christ-like way. Seemingly shallow as it is, it's a topic that if abused can have drastic consequences. Not everyone struggles with the adjustment of how to study in high school to how to study in college, but I must confess that I was definitely one of the students who found this adjustment not only challenging but surprising. I knew I would need to study in college, but my perception of exactly how to go about doing that was skewed. I thought that I could wait a few days before a test to even begin studying and make an A. Let me just say without going into too much detail that was absolutely not the case, and it took me until recently to figure out how to properly and diligently study.
Here are some characteristics that I believe Christ calls us to embrace:
Diligence: I think most people would say that diligence yields work well-done, and I believe that is the Bible's stance on this attribute. There are many examples when the Bible talks of the rewards of being diligent such as Proverbs 13:4, 'The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied', Proverbs 22:29, 'Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men', and Galatians 6:9, 'And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up'. We are promised goodness for diligence and in my personal experience that has been the case. Don't just take my word for it though, read the Word yourself and put the action of diligence into practice, and I encourage you to not simply study but study well.
Consistency: There are such benefits to being consistent. I think making habits lead to goodness, seeing that they are good habits. Bad habits often lead to addiction (a topic for another post to be sure!), but when the habits are good ones they most often have positive outcomes. Consistency yields way to other positive attributes such as diligence and self-control, which Christians are called to have as Christ showed through having these very attributes in His own life. Jesus was consistent in prayer and diligent in work as a minister and rabbi. In everything He did, He glorified God through obedience and goodness just as we are called to do.
Wisdom: The bottom line here is that studying produces good grades, which can often have a domino effect yielding to better job offers, secure financial status-I do not mean a plethora of financial wealth, but rather financial wisdom and security-and glorification of the Father. There is wisdom in studying most definitely. Wisdom comes from learning from mistakes and seeing the goodness out of the bad side of a situation, which, coincidentally enough, is the point of Christianity when you think about it. It takes acknowledgement of sin to see the good that is able to be achieved, just as when a mistake is made and acknowledged, the pathway on how to fix that mistake is seen. It's funny really, we think wisdom is able to achieved through purely human means, but that simply isn't so. We are able to see how humans ought to be and we know when we mess up, but when it comes to fixing our mistakes we continually over and over again stumble. Why is that? If we are able to say yes, we mess up, and yes, this is how we ought to be living, then why don't we fix ourselves? The answer is simple: we are unable. This is where Jesus comes in, by living as an example on how to live and by bringing us to the Father, who is able to give us all goodness, for He is good. God is able and He is on our side. He gives us wisdom and goodness.
Self-Control: Like the other attributes, this one yields productivity and goodness, but this quality I find extremely important (although I'm not sure if one should rate attributes...I think I tend to self-consciously). Self-control is the make it or break it for studying: with it, studying happens. Without it: studying doesn't. The Word calls self-control a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law', and again the quality is mentioned in the passage 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 'Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified'. This passage is why I tend to unintentionally place self-control as a possibly more important attribute than any other, because when we exercise self-control we reflect on our calling and life in the Lord most definitely. When we become 'athletes exercising self-control' and 'runners receiving a prize', we are implying also that we are runners in the race of life. Therefore, when we strive for self-control in studying, we show the world that we strive for self-control in our Fathers' name, waiting on Christ to return, believing in Him, and having the self-control to put aside our selfish human nature and choose to engage in the selfless love of Christ.
Laziness: I am filled with sadness at this negative quality that is so easy to obtain. Laziness is so far from how God wants us to be, and my mind is boggled at how often we pursue it rather than productivity. Often I would fall into this when I had a hard time studying. I knew I needed to go to the library and spend a few hours on Calculus, but I would much rather go home and take a nap instead. There is a difference in relaxation and laziness; peace is needed when life brings about stress, but being productive is a good thing and laziness is not reflective of the Lord's nature. In the beginning, God did not create us to be lazy. Humans have been made in the image of the Lord who gives life and creates. Therefore, let us be productive too and glorifying to Him in this way! Laziness also forms bad habits. If you put off completing an assignment or studying for a test one day, it becomes that much easier to put it off the next. Starting off on top of things as soon as possible yields positive results, and also college life becomes so busy that if you put tasks off constantly, you might find yourself overwhelmed later and without the time to complete the task at all!
Know that when transitioning from high school to college the study demand goes up for almost everyone. I think only a few of my friends were prepared for the difference. I learned to invest more time, more mental capacity, and more habits into studying while in college.
A Few Study Tips:
- Be organized!
- Utilize sticky notes
- Write tasks/assignments down in a planner and knock 'em out early!
- Read your syllabi and highlight important dates
- Study more than a week ahead of the test date
- Do some experimenting and find what works best for you- EARLY ON
- Try to study with flashcards, especially Freshman year. Everything's memorization.
- Take breaks from studying to read the Word and be revitalized and refreshed
- Coffee, coffee, coffee for all-nighters, should you have them
- Study at the library or somewhere to suit your needs; I'd go to coffee shops and get nothing done
- Don't study at home if you are easily distracted!
- Use social networking as a type of reward; i.e. study for an hour, Pinterest for 20 minutes
- Grab a snack to have right there with you so you aren't distracted to keep getting up and leaving
- Pray :) The most important tip. Ask God to prepare your mind, heart, body, and soul.
