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Friday, January 28, 2011

No One But You

As college students, we have classes, homework, endless amounts of reading to complete. We have roommates and friends, our chapter sisters, boyfriends or loved ones, and of course our own families.

Each part of our college experience life is demanding. They demand our attendance at events, they have expectations for us, and they take up our time....a lot of time to be honest.

So what makes us get it all done? How do we tackle our pile of work? How as college women to we manage to have lunch with our roommates, read 6 chapters of economics (or A/P or Bio or math...or all of the above), write our QU seminar papers, call our boyfriends, go to the bank, the grocery store, and of course DUNKIN'? The answer is simple: motivation!

Dare I say, Greek women on our campus are especially motivated. We have chapter meetings, membership education sessions, starting next week recruitment practice every night, philanthropy events, committee meetings....the list goes on and on!

I often hear members of the Greek community say things like "I feel like I do this full time and go to classes to fill the rest of the space" or "Greek life is my full time job" - honestly I can't lie, sometimes I'm feeling the same way!!

So how do we get through everything we have to do?
1. It's mandatory ... .as much as we procrastinate, our QU papers will not go away. We can do them the night before or in advance but somehow they get done.

2. Expectations .... you barely have time to breath - but your chapter expects you to be at chapter every week. Wanting to or not, you're there.

3. You WANT to do it ... you enjoy spending time with your loved ones, you miss you boyfriend, or love being silly with your roommates. You might even enjoy your class or project enough to move it to the top of your academic to-do pile!

Yes, we all have days were our motivation is dead and we get absolutely nothing done. It's a fact. Everyone has an "off" day, and sometimes, we all need an "off" day.

What gets us out of bed every morning? What makes us start our engines?

If you know me, this answer is simple: caffeine!! (just kidding...but kind of serious)

We have to be engaged in what we're doing. We have to be there, in that moments, for class, for our families, for our sisters. The key to staying motivated is to compartmentalize - when you're at chapter, BE AT and THINK ABOUT chapter, when you're in the library think about Biology or History - one thing at a time. If all you're thinking about in chapter is the work you need to get done, you won't be taking anything away from your chapter experience. If you're in class or studying and let chapter meetings or calendar events stress you out, what are you retaining?

Sometimes we need motivation from others but most of the time it comes from within, we have to inspire ourselves and in turn be the inspiration for those around us.

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