Hi Aska,
How are you?
I have recently been suspended from UTM (I have a CGPA of 1.41) and I tried summer school and ultimately disappointed myself and my parents (they work very hard for me yet I could not do such a simple task) SO now I have a year off and I have this unruly fear that if I stay out of UTM for too long I am gonna lose whatever drive I have to study (and based off my gpa, not
so much). I just do not want to come back to UTM after a year and make the same mistakes. I am totally aware of my mistakes and I demand redemption next year.
tl;dr Im suspended for a year and I dont want to lose my drive to study. How do I maintain an academic mindset?
Thank you so much and you are forever appreciated in my heart!
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hello!
i’m doing pretty good, thanks for asking!
firstly, school is hard. don’t feel discouraged if you’re struggling. so you had a minor setback – it’s okay. you are not alone and you have a lot of support at UTM.
the number one piece of advice we have for you is to keep in contact with your registrars because they are there to advise you in all your academic endeavours. sit down with your registrar to formulate a good plan for your undergrad. ask yourself if you truly enjoy what you are studying. if not, consider switching programs. since you seem to have trouble staying motivated, regular check-ins with the registrar will be extremely valuable for you so you can be held accountable and be less likely to slack off.
furthermore, there are a number of academic resources available at UTM including workshops and skills development sessions. they are designed to help students develop better study habits and i’m sure they’ll be very helpful.
some other pieces of general advice i would offer are:
- don’t be too hard on yourself because you can’t win them all. in the grand scheme of your life, this will only seem like a minor setback. don’t let this discourage you and bring you down.
- acknowledge small victories. if you finish a chapter of reading or get through a day of class, reward yourself with a treat. little progress is still better than none at all.
- set goals. lists are very useful when setting goals because there is a certain kind of satisfaction that comes from checking something off your list. set realistic goals like, “today i will put on pants” or ” i will attend all classes this week.”
and there are obviously other things like exercising regularly that you could try. some people claim that you ACTUALLY feel better after exercising and you don’t actually feel like you’ve been run over by a train, but that’s just my opinion.
during your year off, i would encourage you to try reviewing some of the course material from your first year to practice good study habits. it might seem pointless since you’ve already gotten your grades back, but at the end of the day, you’ll feel a lot more confident and prepared to tackle your second year if you feel like you know your first year material very well. use the time that you have to better your habits, and you’ll see results in the new year.
random inspirational tidbits:
alfred pennyworth: why do we fall sir? so that we can learn to pick ourselves up. – the dark knight rises
THIS VIDEO is probably one of the most inspirational videos i’ve ever seen in my life. i think it’s a lot more inspirational than dj khaled.
but nonetheless, i appreciate you too.
good luck on getting back into the groove, we here at askastudent believe in you! may the force be with you.
cheers,
aska