More Progress...?

            Well, another week has passed, which means that I’ve had another week to accomplish the three goals that I set for myself about two weeks ago. After writing the first sentence, I just realized how quickly that week went by. Wow! I’d say that I have yet again made progress towards accomplishing my goals, but that I m still far from totally accomplishing them; at least in my mind anyway. Luckily, I am patient and I don’t expect these goals to be completely accomplished any time soon.

            I think that I’ll start off with the goal I think I have made the most measurable progress towards accomplishing; my goal of studying for classes. Last week I started making flash cards, which worked tremendously well, and will most likely continue to be one of my main methods of studying. I had also begun to type out notes on my laptop as I read through the chapters for certain classes. I mainly utilized this method for my Natural Resources and Statistics classes. I didn’t necessarily read the textbooks word for word, but I read through all of the vocabulary terms and typed out their definitions and any examples that I could use to more easily understand the terms. I had to type a little more for statistics, because there are so many more examples and therefore, more procedures. These notes have come in handy because I definitely think they help me to more easily retain information in comparison to just reading the textbooks.

            As for my other two goals, I believe that I have even made progress towards accomplishing them. My second goal was to “be more open to others as well as comfortable with myself”. Once again, I feel as though progress towards this goal have mainly come in the form of the developing comfort between my roommate and I. The fact that I only have one roommate now definitely makes me feel much more comfortable, because it is a lot easier to get to know one person, rather than two people. Additionally, I have come to know my roommate better than I think I ever could have with yet another roommate along with us. Getting to know my roommate has made me more comfortable with myself, because we both can just be ourselves, due to the fact that we have already passed that initial awkward phase. We’re no longer afraid to be ourselves, which I think will help both of us throughout our college experience.

            My third goal was to “clear my mind of negativity and focus on the positive”. I think it is particularly hard to gauge the progress I’ve made towards accomplishing this goal, but I can definitely say that I have been trying. I’d say that I have made progress, just by the fact that I am becoming more and more comfortable with college life. This means that I have gotten into my own routine, which leaves less time to think negative thoughts. I’ve been working out, much like I do at home, which has helped to clear my mind and maintain my sanity; so I’d definitely say that I’ve made progress there. Like I said, progress towards this goal is hard to measure, but I definitely think I’ve made progress. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to constantly clear my mind of negativity and focus on positive things, but I think that I’ve definitely done more of it, while here at college.

            When I researched “being open-minded” I came across a funny quote that I just have to share. When you think of being open-minded, you think very deep thoughts, but this quote by Richard Dawkins brings a little levity to the situation. Mr. Dawkins says, “By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.” I think this is true because you have to be open-minded, but at the same time, you have to know who you are and stay true to yourself. I’ll remember this as I go forward trying to accomplish my goals, especially my goal of being more open to others and comfortable with myself.

Flow In My College Life

            Reading Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has actually got me thinking about my life here at college. I’ve begun to think about activities that put me into flow and I sometimes even think of why certain things make me feel bad. I think that chapter eight in Flow had some personal significance for me, because the chapter is literally titled, “Enjoying Solitude and Other People”. It made me think about how I interact with other people, and even more importantly, how I act with myself.

            While reading chapter eight, I actually hit one of those “Aha!” moments, because I found a passage that I could really apply to my initial days at college. In this particular passage, Csikszentmihalyi talks about what teenagers think about when they are alone. I know that I would personally be thinking, “What can some old guy possibly know about what teenagers think?” However, Csikszentmihalyi nails an idea right on the head when he says, “In other words, with nothing to do, the mind is unable to prevent negative thoughts from elbowing their way to center stage”. I personally experienced this, because I noticed that when I had nothing to do, I would begin to think about home, which would then lead to an endless list of comparisons between my life at college and my life at school. Considering the fact that I loved my home life, college life has virtually no chance when it comes to making me feel more comfortable. I realized that every instance where something felt uncomfortable or something happened that I didn’t like, I would instantly think, “This doesn’t happen at home” or something along those lines. I now realize that it is only natural to have these negative thoughts and that I really wasn’t giving college a chance. I don’t know if I will ever like college more than home life, but I am now more than willing to give it a fair chance.

            In order to keep these negative thoughts out of my mind, I try to stay busy, and certain activities obviously work more effectively to clear my mind than others. One activity in particular that puts me into a state of flow, is working out. I know it’s no surprise, because I’ve talked about it before, but I just can’t get over how essential it has been for me, along with my sanity while here at college. No matter what has happened during the day, the day before, or even what I will have to do afterwards, all I think about during a workout is working out, nothing else. I am definitely a perfectionist, especially when it comes to my fitness and my diet. I know that if I want to be the best that I can be physically and mentally, I have to let go of all my thoughts and push my mind and body through the workout. The time begins to melt away like I am having fun, but what I’m doing is so challenging that all I can do is push my body to do more. If I am ever in a state of flow, it’s when I am working out.

            Perhaps the next step is to find something other than working out that puts me in a state of flow. This way, I can spend more time in flow, and therefore less time thinking negative thoughts. Not only does exercising block out negative thoughts, but it seems to keep my mind sharp. This concept may not be new, but I have come across an article that I think helps to explain the concept, and even a little of the science behind the concept.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/nl_420.do#

The Beginnings of Progress

About a week has passed since I chose three goals to pursue throughout the year here at college, and I think that I have already made some progress toward accomplishing these goals.  Although these goals can be accomplished, I think that they are more likely to turn into resolutions, rather than goals that I can be totally finished with at some point in time. I can already tell that my personality is changing, maybe not very dramatically yet, but I can definitely notice some of the subtle differences in myself.

            The first difference I can notice in myself is quite obvious because the difference lies in my actions, rather than in an element of my personality. In thinking of my first goal, (to study for classes) I have already made flashcards for two separate tests and I feel like they definitely helped. Studying for me is actually harder than it sounds, not only because I never studied in high school, but because I have to break down personal barriers to do so. These personal barriers actually manifest themselves in the form of pride; because I never studied in high school, I came into college thinking that I might have to study, but I didn’t need to because I would automatically get good grades without studying. I have decided to put my pride aside and study regardless of whether I need it or not, because it is one of my goals and I know that it will not only benefit my in the short run, as in this year, but it will build good habits that will benefit me in the long run, as in all throughout my college career.

            The progress on my next two goals is a little harder to measure, but nonetheless, I feel like I have made progress. My second goal was to be more open to others as well as comfortable with myself. I think I have made progress toward this goal when it comes to dorm life and interacting with my roommate. As time has passed since the beginning of the year, I have become much more comfortable with my roommate because we have had more time to talk and to hash things out. I have also learned to accept and not think twice about the little things that he does that used to annoy me a bit. I know that I probably do the same types of annoying things, so the little things don’t bother me as much as they used to. I think this is decent short-term progress, and I think it is a building block toward the long-term progress of being more comfortable with other people in general; throughout college and even after college.

            When I think of my last goal (to clear my mind of negativity and focus on the positive) I think I have made less progress, as compared to the progress I have made on my other goals. I have tried to clear my mind, but it is quite hard to do so in college because there is so much to remember. I have to remember what classes I have to go to and when, what homework I have to do and when I can do it, when and what I eat, when I can work out, and much, much more. I have been able to see more things in a positive light, but I don’t think I have had a clear mind since I moved in to college. I think that I should be able to do so tomorrow night when I do yoga, because yoga is very hard to do with an unfocused mind. I have a feeling that as time progresses, I will naturally become more comfortable with my surroundings, and therefore able to focus my mind and focus on the positive things.

            I find that I can focus more effectively during a work out than I can during any other activity, because I focus on the task at hand and nothing else. Whenever I can’t focus my mind enough to start the work out, I think of this quote by Muhammad Ali : I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." I think if I can apply this focus to my college life, I will be much happier throughout college and hopefully even life after college.

Three New Goals

My FYS class has prompted me to pick three goals from a list of goals that my classmates and I have produced from our reading of The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. Because college automatically forces young adults to change in several ways, these goals should actually be fairly easy to accomplish, due to the fact that I am already changing, as opposed to just being stuck in my old ways.

            The first goal that that I chose was: study for classes. Now, this may not sound like much of a goal, as it is expected of all college students, but it is definitely a goal of mine. Even though college students are expected to study, the percentage of those who actually study is most likely much lower than what is expected of them by their professors. I studied for the first couple of instances earlier in the school year already. All throughout high school, things always came extremely easily to me, so I never studied or felt the need to study.  The closest I came to studying in high school was cramming during the first minute of class while the teacher was taking attendance. This means that I will most likely have to change my ways in order to be successful in the coming years of college. I have already studied for a quiz using flash cards, and although it felt different, I actually studied, and I feel like this is definitely a goal that I can accomplish.

            The second goal I chose was: be more open to others as well as comfortable with yourself. I chose this goal because I feel like it is something that will help me gat acclimated to college life. I interpreted this goal to mean that if I take more pride in myself and who I am, then it will be easier to be more open to others, because I’ll be so comfortable with myself. As applied to college, I think this means that if I do the things I like and act the way I normally act, then I will find new friends, and my college experience will be that much more enjoyable.

            Last, but not least, my third goal: clear your mind of negativity and focus on the positive. I chose this goal, because it seemed like an obvious goal to choose. If I can somehow convert the negative aspects of life into positive aspects of life, then it seems like a pretty safe way to be happier throughout my time at college. I know from personal experience that working out is a great way to clear my mind of negativity, because instead of thinking about what is going wrong in my life, or what I need to do, I just focus on my workout. The most effective workout for clearing my mind would definitely have to be yoga, because you can’t think about anything else but the task at hand. Technically, you’re not supposed to think at all, which is why yoga can be so effective. If I can treat my life like a workout, and focus on the task at hand and clearing my mind of everything else, I think college will be a lot more enjoyable.

If I look for fitness, or health advice, I usually turn to Tony Horton (the creator and leader of P90X) or Beachbody (the company that makes the P90X workout program). This is an example of how yoga has proven to be beneficial, physically and mentally.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/nl_459.do#

My New Home Away From Home

The past two and a half weeks or so have been spent in my home away from home: the Adirondacks. Not only has it been a change adjusting to the Adirondacks as my surroundings, but I have also had to adjust to college.  So far, it has gone as well as I could have hoped for. I settled into my dorm room quite quickly, and while it does not yet feel just like home (and it probably never will) it has served quite nicely.

 It is sure different to be sitting in a room with the door open and have so many different people popping in to say hi, or to introduce themselves. It is also quite different to have to walk such distances to go places. Instead of turning the corner in my living room and being able to walk into the kitchen, I have to leave my room and walk to the dining hall. Instead of walking downstairs into my basement, I have to walk across campus to the gym. It is also quite different living in a community, like that of a college dorm. Not only do I now basically share a bedroom with two people who used to be complete strangers, but there are complete strangers next door, across the hall, and all throughout the building.

As far as college campuses go, I don’t think there is a better one around. Where else can you wake up, walk outside and have the cold breeze blow off the lake and provide a means of truly waking you up. Okay, so maybe a blast of cold air in the face isn’t the best thing in the morning, but once you truly learn to embrace it, you will be glad you’re there. I can honestly say I’ve never been able to sit and eat my cereal in the morning while looking out at a lake and looking at the mist floating around, and eventually uncovering a mountain. It’s a great start to the day, and sometimes it feels like I’m just on vacation, because it can provide so much relaxation. The best part is: I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. There are so many things that I want to do up here that I don’t even know where to start. I suppose it’s a good problem to have, and just like my surroundings, I’ve learned to embrace it.

Just the Basics

Hi, my name is Christian Lasal and I am a freshman at Paul Smith’s College; majoring in Natural Resources Management and Policy. This blog came about as an assignment for my FYS (First Year Seminar) class, but who knows, maybe something more will come out of this blog. I guess I’ll start with the basics. I’m from a small town in Western New York, called Middleport. The town is located on the Erie Canal (it was just across the road from my high school) and is about forty minutes away from Buffalo and Niagara Falls. I was born with severe bilateral clubbed feet, which means that the bones in my feet are severely curved inward. In addition to this condition, because the bones turn inward, it wraps my leg muscles around by bones, which leaves them unable to grow; that combined with some unexplained nerve damage in my legs makes my legs and feet much weaker than those of the average person. I grew up all my life playing soccer until I was thirteen, when I had an additional surgery on my left foot. This surgery prompted me to explore other sports, because my feet were so weak and soccer became much more difficult to play. I quickly found basketball because a good number of my friends played, so I went to a few open gyms and the rest is history. Near the beginning of my junior year, I began an extreme workout program known as P90X. P90X focuses on everything from developing your arm strength, leg strength, abs and core strength, to your balance and flexibility. The program is so intense that many triathletes and marines can’t even do the workouts. The program is every day for ninety days, but I’ve completed the program twice, and on my third time, I didn’t stop and kept going for over 240 days, which brings me to the present.

         I plan on using this blog to share my experiences here at Paul Smith’s College with others. I also hope to be able to connect with others and learn more about other people along the way. I think that this blog should be an effective supplement to our classroom discussions because people usually don’t want to tell all about themselves in a discussion group, but with a blog we might be more apt to share information about ourselves.