I have been in school since Fall 2022. I have had various ups and downs, and the worst was last semester. While I did not fail any of my classes, I barely passed them, which has led me to have to repeat a few classes.

Is this what I wanted? Well, no. Not really. Who wants to repeat classes and waste… so much money retaking classes. It is Comp I and a College Success class that community colleges require you to take, so it is no big deal. “If it is no big deal, why do you have to repeat them?” Cause I fucked up.

Last semester was my first semester at this new college, which means there was a bit of a learning curve to the environment I would be learning. I am not making excuses, every college has a different climate – my new (current) college has more doctors than my previous one, so chances are they hold their students to a higher level. Which is fine, just not what I was expecting.

I also did not utilize my planner like I did in the past – which is my own damn fault. My planner is normally stapled to me practically. There is also no place for me to go where it is quiet. In my old apartment, I could go to the library and there were study spaces – the library I am near (or even in this county library chain in general) do not have these and I found them the best place for me to study. I may need to look into a place or study space that could work.

What’s different this semester? I set myself up for success. How? Several steps.

Staggering Classes

In other words, I have it set up so that I have 1 class until Feb, then in March I add the last 2 classes. This puts all my attention on my a strong start (and maybe getting ahead) in the first class. The second class in a math class, where I will need the most help potentially. And then the last two classes are my repeats. This is set up to make sure the classes I need to focus on the hardest are first and have an advantage.

Planner

My planner will live on my desk and travel with me, basically making sure it is in my hand at all times. This goes a step further with the fact that I am utilizing GoodNotes across my Mac Mini and iPad to have them synced, where I can utilize them from both my desk and from my iPad when I am on the couch do doing whatever it is I do on my iPad.

Support System

My husband has been good at checking in on me to look at my reminders on my phone. He also is going to be helping me by running interference with our roommates (mainly my best friend, who is my main distraction). That way I stay focused and aware of my tasks.

While there are many issues in the last semester, I think I am set up better. Now, keep your eyes open here. I am also working on the next part of On Tyranny, I am just trying to figure the best way to write the next part that ties into Lesson One.