HOW TO COLLEGE: A freshman's guide to surviving the first year: Entry 2

Lesson 2: Too much stuff, not enough time
Even if you get your schedule worked out to a T and stick to it, there will always be something you want to do and can't. This is part of life, and the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can stop being sad and get on with having fun. I speak to myself as much as the next person here, because I still have trouble with this. I probably always will. Like I said, it's part of life. It will likely happen until the day I die, or at least retire and can say "screw this" and go do whatever the hell I want.
Anyway, back to the point. There are so many fun opportunities on a college campus. Clubs and activities to get involved in, friends to go out with, personal pleasures (netflix anyone?) to enjoy. And as much as those things are wonderful and encouraged and necessary for a healthy mental and social life, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
I know it sucks, but you have to learn to compromize. At least one hour of studying for one hour of free time, whether that be with friends or on the internet. Studying is important. After all, you did choose to be in college, and school work goes along with that. 
This post is kind of short, but I'm swamped with essays and readins for my classes, and as this is technically a free time thing, I'd best get back since I spent most of my time already on tumblr and facebook.
Don't forget to comment! Hopefully there will be more post's up soon!

HOW TO COLLEGE: A freshman's guide to surviving the first year

Up until now, this blog has been primarily random thoughts and poetry from my brain. I have decided to start a few projects, the first of which is HOW TO COLLEGE. Now, I know I'm no expert on anything, least of all college, but I have my own opinions on things. And this is a place I decided was good enough to put those opinions, along with a few ideas, out there. So here goes.

Lesson 1: Schedules.
My first few weeks were breezy. It seemed like everything was going to be great, I was going to have lots of time to talk to people and hang out and have fun. And I'm not saying I don't, but It's not exactly how I imagined it. First of all, once the homework started rolling in, I had less and less time to do what I wanted. I would spend tons of time on the internet until I absolutely had to study, and then crammed. I didn't learn everything I needed to. It was hard and stressful and I wanted to cry.
Then I came up with a plan: Make a schedule. I wrote out everything on a piece of paper, giving me a visual representation of my daily life: when I have class, when I need to study, when I get free time, etc. I posted it in a place I could easily see. I took an extra small notebook and started writing up daily TO DO lists for myself, including things from homework assignments to Go Shopping! and calling my mom.

Now, I realize this plan is not for everyone. Not everyone is as visual as I am and needs the written out schedule or list. Some people get stressed out by lists. That's ok. The point is, find a way to stay organized so that free time doesn't get in the way of studying, and studying doesn't get in the way of free time (because both are important).

Thanks for reading! Let me know your opinion on the subject, and look for more!

Self Harm

This is the last time, she promises herself

After today, it will all be fine

Nothing is going to hurt anymore

You will finally be free

You will take charge

You will be okay.

You will.

And the morning comes

And she feels fine

And the day goes on

But suddenly the world comes crashing

There is no more time

But she swears

This time

It’s the last time. 

~C.R. Sutton

Apathy

Apathy becomes me like a scarf

Tying itself around my neck

Constricting me

Adorning me

And at first I can’t figure out

How to tie it on

But then I can’t figure out how

To get it off

~C.R. Sutton

Procrastination and all that.

I've been neglecting writing lately. Writing anything at all. I'll sit down and stare at my computer screen or piece of paper and wait for a very long time before giving up. I hardly write any words, and if i do, I usually discard them.
I couldn't figure it out. Why was I having writers block all of the sudden? I mean, sure, I've been pretty busy with starting college and haven't had a lot of time to feed my creative muse, but that's no excuse. I still have plenty of ideas. I should be able to write something.
It eventually got to the point where I would procrastinate sitting down to write at all, and my spree of writing something, anything, every day fell by the wayside like a discarded cigarette butt on the freeway.
But, I've finally figured it out. I've gotten myself into a rut where I convince myself that my simple, silly ideas are not good enough, are not worth being written down. And that is just wrong.
Writing takes practice. Journaling, making observations about little tidbits of every day life, writing crappy poems and sappy love songs that have no rhyme or tune and are basically just a vomit of feelings on the page are all important things in the writing process. Little stories that make no sense, have no plot, and are overall boring and dull are still important stories to write. Sure, they probably won't get published, but that's part of being a writer. Things you write are not always going to get published. Things you think and say are not always going to be what others want to hear. That is not important, at least not in this moment, not in this stage of my writing experience. The important thing is to practice, to write down those love songs and raw feelings and plot-less paragraphs. It's the only way to get better, to find what's inside and looking to come out. and maybe once you've weeded through the junk and raw emotion that's cluttering up your mind, screaming to get out, you'll find below it a lovely beautiful flower waiting to bloom, a flower that will win a poetry contest or become a published novel.
Because writing is not cut an dry like making a cake or building a cupboard. You can't just mix the ingredients and hammer the wood and come out with a perfect product every time, no matter how well you know what you are doing, no matter how experienced you are. Because in writing, so much of the process is going out and piking out just the right ingredients for that cake and cutting down your own wood for the cupboard. It takes time and energy, and sometimes we sit down and say "I'll just eat these stale cookies instead. Who needs a cake?" But the truth is, the world is waiting to touch that delightful morsel you've created. And if you forgo getting the ingridents together, if you forgo measuring out just right, you are never going to have a cake, and eat it too.
So get off the internet and get to writing! Put in some music, dance in the rain for a while, do something that makes you happy and forget about the judgment. Write something for you, something that's stupid and silly. Write something that doesn't make sense. Stop procrastinating and just write!

 This has been a message not only from me to you, but also from me to me. Thank you for reading :)