The Top Ten Steps to Academic Success

I received this list upon my graduation from high school from a family friend who has worked in the public school system for many years. I wanted an easily accessible electronic version and thought others could benefit if I put it up here.

1.   Make Your Health a Priority
Budget your time to make sure you get enough sleep. Eat well. Make time to exercise. Relax. Cut down on stress. Don’t forget that the trick to success is learning how to balance work and play and still find time to stay healthy.

2.   Be Yourself
Be an individual and make your own decisions. Think and act for yourself instead of conforming to other people’s expectations. Take chances that will help you grow, and accept responsibility for your actions. Above all, do things that make you happy.

3.   Be Patient with Yourself
No one has ever gone to school without making mistakes. You won’t either. Don’t get discouraged, and look at setbacks as part of your success. Be proud of your achievements, and learn from your mistakes.

4.   Get Involved
Join a student organization. Volunteer in the community. Play intramurals. Be part of activities. A large part of the college experience takes place outside the classroom.

5.   Listen to Others
Listen to and learn from advice, criticism, and praise from your counselor, teachers, friends, and family. These people are some of the most valuable resources you have.

6.   Do Not Procrastinate
Break down long-term assignments into smaller tasks and include them in your study schedule. Try not to postpone assignments until the last minute and study for exams prior to the night before. Your teacher will expect you to put more effort into the assignments they give you more time to complete.

7.   Budget Your Time Well
Learn to balance your time. Take a few minutes each day or at the beginning of the week to make a schedule. It could save you stress in the long run. Your planner is a very valuable tool—use it every day!

8.   Know the Rules
Unawareness of expectations isn’t an excuse for not fulfilling them. Ask questions first.

9.   Learn about Your School and What It Has to Offer
Your school is a valuable resource and has innumerable support services to help you in your academic transition. If you have a question or a problem, more than likely there is someone who can help you. Take the initiative to find out from your counselor, teachers, or principals.

10.   Go to Class
Boredom, lack of sleep, and poor preparation are frequent excuses for skipping class. Avoiding these habits and going to class are the first steps toward academic success.

Lord

The world is dark, and full of wonder

Fear and joy go hand in hand

Soothing rain and rolling thunder

Conjured by the same command

King as mighty as the ocean

Healer soft as evening sand

Trumpet call, His shining omen

Heralds death, as He demands

Endless grace but matchless justice

Greets the citizens He rules

He welcomes some into His palace

Throws the others out: the fools

For He is everything and nothing

All for Him and by Him made

Shows the nature of the One King

Who is over night and day

Colorful Cacophony

Blue is an archway, a gate open wide

Red is a marvelous ruin of hope

Together, they're Purple, but Purple is pain:

Sharpened brutality, slippery slope

Green is a poison, sweet as the grave

Blue becomes Grey, Red remains Red

Whispers of horrors imagined but real

Grey is a roiling cloud in its head

Green is rejected, its poison removed

Red walks away, taking Blue, leaving Grey

Blue is a memory, hid in the dark

What was once night slowly turns into day

Grey is a fortress, its gate clos-ed tight

Pink is a child who wants to be grown

Risk is permitted, reward is perceived

No more does Grey keep the fortress alone

Pink is the coast's edge, a line in the sand

Grey is a breaker that wipes it away

Promises spoken but never fulfilled

Pink is a question that asks all of Grey

Grey is still Grey, but Pink is not Pink

A vacuum as Black as the ocean at night

Grey falls and loses it all to the dream

Leaves Black behind and on new shores sets sights

Grey is not Grey, nor yet is it Blue

Now more like Navy, not bright but still new

Cacophony fades, and Navy is still

No longer questions the songwriter's will

The fortress is old now, and covered in silence

Navy remembers erecting its walls

It's now just a home, a comforting palace

Hope echoes out from its hearth through its halls

Silver's familiar, well-known but surprising

Navy is cautious but welcomes a guest

The risk is regarded, but then it's discarded

Far better to wait and be sure than to test

Navy once bright Blue and Silver once Orange

Songwriter painting with colors thought lost

Green, Red, and Purple, Pink turned to Black

Art drawn with hundreds of shades on one cloth

The World is Windy

"The world is windy!" (And I quote)

"Be careful when you go outside!

And when a-sailing in a boat,

Watch out for random gusts of air!"

"Pooh pooh!" said I. "What gusts of air?

I need not fear audacious wind!"

I walked along without a care,

And felt the wind caress my face. 

Then came the gust! I set my face

Defiant, leaning toward the gale,

But when, by chance, it slacked in pace,

I fell upon the ground.