Motivation and Stress
I'm in my first year of college, finals are about a week or two away but I’ve got so much to do with assignments and extra credit and tests before then.
I have such a lack of motivation since my junior year of high school when covid hit (2020) but my parents expect me to do really well. I have C’s in at least 3 classes right now (spanish, math, and psych) and my parents don’t know this except for my math grade because I had to withdrawl from it last semester and retake it now.
I just procrastinate so much (always have since middle school) but its never been this bad, and I feel like I haven’t even tried to do well in any of my classes except one since I got to college. I literally can’t afford to fail these classes, so now I have to put in effort, but right now I’m the most unmotivated because 1: it's almost summer and end of school until the fall, and 2: I’ve never really had to study a lot like in college, in high school you could just kinda do the test based on what your class taught you and do okay. College Is so much more independent and its hurting my grades.
My parents don’t check my grades during the year (they never have) but maybe they should so they can keep me in line. I have this pressure from them to do well so I can keep my scholarship and my GPA can stay high but my procrastination and mental health get in the way.
Last semester I could get through stuff without really trying, I took less classes and it wasn't as hard so now I'm taking more difficult classes and they're all lectures which is boring and I cant keep myself applied to the content. When I do its through discussions in class but my grade sucks cause the homework is so boring.
if you read this far I'm grateful and maybe you could leave a message or we could do a 1-on-1 chat?
- Grace <3
Hello Grace,
The transition between high school and college, for half of the students, it is a big jump. The expectations, ways material is taught, and sometimes even the class sizes are much different than during high school. Your profs just automatically expect that you'll be able to adjust without any problems to how college classes are like. When in reality, many students do have trouble blending in.
This transition had been even more troubling when the pandemic started. It affected students at all levels of education. With only a couple weeks left before your finals, at the moment, you can just aim for passing the courses. Of course, you should still put in your best effort in studying your materials.
As for having motivation to study. Keep in mind your scholarship. Create a goal you must achieve at the end of the semester. With procrastination, it is crucial to be able to catch yourself before things drag out too long. Know that the more your procrastinate, the more stress you'll put yourself through as you're nearing the end of the semester. To prevent yourself from feeling that excess stress, stay productive throughout your semester and study, do assignments in a more timely manner. From the moment you realize you've began to procrastinate, think that if you continue to do so, you'll become more stressed in the end, and your mental health will definitely be affected too. (For future coping skills for the many semesters to come).
For now, just keep these classes in mind. The assignments and tests that will be due soon before the finals. Think of the assignments and tests as review for the final as well. Keep your scholarship in mind too. Knowing that you must maintain a certain GPA in order to continue with using the scholarship, may help you stay focused. With only a couple of weeks left, you will most likely need to force yourself to take that first step in working on your assignments and studying for tests/finals. Once you get yourself going, your drive to continue will fall into place.
If you feel that taking only 2-3 classes per semester is easier for you to handle, and if your scholarship requirements allow you to do that, then it's okay to not take a full course load. Do what is best, when it comes to your studies, mental health, and how much you can handle physically.
If you find your classes/homework to be boring.. have you thought if you're studying in a field that you have interest in? After the end of this semester, maybe take a look at what your interests are and see if you need to change your field of study.
Hope this hasn't been too lengthy and has helped you in one way or another~
@kindnessngrace
@Jaeteuk thank you for these thoughts, I appreciate it. <3
Transitioning from high school to college is certainly hard as it is a huge difference. It’s even more difficult with covid as it puts restrictions in everything especially in higher education. At college, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed as you’re suddenly been given this huge responsibility for yourself in terms of your academic achievement and over wellbeing. For me, the biggest pro of being at college is no one tells you what to do, you have the freedom to do whatever you like and no one seemed to be lecturing you like it used to be at high schools from teachers and parents. Also at the same time, the biggest con is of being at college is also no one tells you what to do. It’s hard to find the motivation to work hard as you really got to push yourself. It’s also difficult to look for solutions as no one seems to be pointing at a clear direction for you. College is a bit like a taster for the real world where you started to feel the responsibility for yourself and it could be a scary thing to be dealing with. I have been similar situations like you when I first started college. It wasn’t easy and I felt like I was hit by a big shock! I have managed to get through it somehow and I believe you will get there eventually! There might be times you feel frustrated and lack of motivation and it’s okay! 7Cups has amazing communities for you to seek support - which I think it’s really great that you’re reaching out on the forums here! There are also some awesome listeners here to support you when you need them! Some listeners have helped me a lot through tough times at colleges. You can do it! Sending loves to you😊