Two Years Later, Some Tips

I have recently finished up my second year at college, and I must say it is very strange being halfway done with my undergraduate career. I consistently think back on all that I have accomplished in just two years, as well as how surprisingly fast they went by. I have thoroughly enjoyed them thus far, but also know that moving forward the stress will likely begin to mount over the next two. However, reflecting back throughout the two years I've thought a lot about how I was able to be successful, and what I was doing during the times I was most successful and happy that helped me.

First, it was really important to begin the semester in an organized, orderly and intentional fashion. This means organizing all of my books, notebooks and folders by class, scheduling out time to read for each of my classes and do homework, as well as set a bed time. Having these organized times, and trying to hold myself to a "deadline" for each day, helped motivate my work.

Second, I learned that despite all of my best efforts, I would fail at keeping up this organization throughout the entire semester. Things happen that get in the way of your plans, and the important thing is to be flexible. Each semester I was more successful in maintaining the organization than the last, and having yourself and those around you help keep you accountable can help these things.

Third, it is important to avoid the "student mindset". This mindset seeks out the path of least resistance in both scheduling and taking classes. Take the classes that you need, that will challenge you and push you forward. And when taking these classes, if you get a great grade on your first test don't think "Oh, I can slack off a bit." No it means that you are doing at least what you need to do, so keep doing that! Keep working hard, even when it's boring, because that focus will help you immensely moving forward.

Fourth, it was vital this past semester that I deleted some distracting apps from my phone. Not having something that I could constantly check helped me focus my attention on more productive things and did not split my attention. Even my procrastination and free time became more focused, which helped me function better overall. Working towards removing compulsive phone-checking helped me focus on reading for fun more, play guitar, go for walks, and of course focus on school work. There are always more distractions that you can remove, so I suggest doing so. Leave your phone behind when you study, do what you can to help yourself.

Finally, don't be afraid to lean on others for help and seek out support. The importance of this is very underrated when considering the success of a student. I can attest to this. It took a while, but I became better at studying with people, actively, which I was never very good at. Even finding emotional support, someone to vent to, can be helpful in helping you process things. I know that my support system, my girlfriend, friends and family, were invaluable this past year in helping me deal with new challenges I faced in all areas of my life.

Overall I've had an amazing experience and I want to keep challenging myself. Things are coming together and I hope that I can continue my success. But remember that success only comes from an intentional, daily effort on your part to make the most of your time and to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. Don't hold onto things that impede you. College is a time for rigorous change in your life, and it's scary, but that change is simply growth in your life.

Finals, oh Finals.

Inspired by a similar poem by Jack Prelutsky.

Finals, oh Finals, I hate you, you stink!

I wish I could wash you away in the sink.

I wish you could go and be eaten by eels,

For when I see you I gag and I reel.

Finals, oh Finals, go jump in a lake!

I wish I could bash your head with a rake,

I wish that there were a physical entity

That allowed me to dispatch your body with brevity.

Finals, oh Finals, I wish you were gone,

I wish I could bury you under my lawn.

Having you in my life is a kink,

Finals, oh Finals, I hate you, you stink.

New Year

I write this during a little break that I have this weekend. I have been working at a summer camp all this time, so blog posts have not exactly been on my mind! But as the summer is coming to a close, and I have to report in just 3 weeks to my CA duties on campus, I've been thinking about what summer break is, and how it feels to be so close to heading back to school.

I believe that summer break is an absolutely awesome opportunity to take time to explore yourself, and explore things outside of what you study in school. Of course people look for internships or research experiences, but these provide so much more than just school does, because they allow growth through new experience. Like I said, I've been at a summer camp, specifically a Bible camp. No, this is not the place where I am going to share my faith or what I've learned about God, but I am going to share what this experience has done for me moving forward in college, beginning an extremely busy year at school.

Working at camp has really helped open my eyes to what the world can be like when everyone allows themselves to be on equal footing, and have a common goal; in this case, that goal was to serve the campers and help them. I've learned so much by interacting with all of these new people, and have also learned a lot about myself from campers. When you're around people and in charge of people for 23 hours a day for 6 days, you get to know each other well, and who you really are starts to come out. That was fun for me, and it is fun for me to see in other counselors who are figuring out what they want to do outside of camp.

I've been so lucky to be so supported by people, and I've learned so much about working with others that I hope I can bring back to school and share through being a CA. I know this post isn't very well-written, but what I want to say is to enjoy your breaks from school, explore new areas of yourself and create interest in other things. Grow from new experiences, and don't be afraid to take on a new challenge during the summer!

As far as going back to school goes, this summer flew by. I'm excited for what school has to hold, but I'm also afraid I might be shocked when I go back, as camp is such a reviving, inspiring and relaxing place to be. I hope my excitement grows, and I will be prepared for the onslaught of classes and responsibilities that I have coming my way. I hope that I learned this summer to be prepared, to be flexible, and to face obstacles with strength. I hope everyone who reads this has enjoyed their summer and learned something new about themselves, and is prepared to head back into school and do awesome!

Deep Thought

It has been a while. I only have one thought that I wish to share at this time though:

Is the hokey pokey really what it's all about?

Finals Week

Finals week is just about to begin, and the one thing on my mind is how much sleep I can get now.

Think about it: People are going to be busy studying. Quiet hours are enforced, and they are 22 hours a day! Even if I commit to studying everyday, the most I can do is 8, maybe 10 hours, and not continuously. The time that is left over is devoted to food and sleep. I'm a math major, but you don't need to be to realize what a deal that is.

I have three finals to study for and 10 days to do it. That is a much better ratio than I ever experienced in high school, and I am going to take full advantage of it! I am someone who firmly believes that a good night's sleep is far superior to anything else when it comes to school and studying. The ability to relax, to just go through the work and then be able to congratulate myself with rest, is something I am looking forward to it.

Now yes, I know many of you will be cringing as you read this. Many people psych themselves into believing that there is not nearly enough time to study. For some people this may be true. But I still say that enjoying the time you have to sleep, to get a solid 8 hours at least, is well worth it. Try to relax. Focus, keep working hard, but stay relaxed.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of the different opportunities the university gives us to unwind a bit while studying. Go out for ice cream, go find some free event in a hall! There's a lot to do, and taking at least an hour every day during these next 10 days to be out and away from your books will not only make studying easier, but will help your brain rest and synthesize the information better!

Just hang in there everyone, we'll make it though this one.

New Thing...

Jack and I have started a new thing: a math problem of the week. For those of you around here, the question will be posted outside our door. For everyone else, you can see them at mathprobumn.blogspot.com .

All answers submitted must be submitted to mdrichard05@gmail.com with proof work done. This first week the winner (first correct answer we get) will receive a free meal at Chipotle (or somewhere similar if you don't happen to enjoy Chipotle.)

Even if you aren't in college and/or don't go to UMN, that's okay. We can try to keep our offer for those of you that we know and can establish an IOU for. If other people who don't know us happen to find these problems... well I appreciate you participating!

Thank you, and Jack and I should have another good post up soon!

What's In A Name?

I was trying to figure out what to post, as I have not written much in a while. While I was considering this, I started absentmindedly assigning numbers to letters, and trying to figure out what I could do with these. As I am a math major, and this blog has contained a disproportionately low amount of math, sadly, I figured I would come up with something related to math to post.

Now, the first idea that came to me before the numbers and letters and math was the idea of what is in a name. I believe that many people consider this to be a first name. What stereotypes are associated with various first names? To me, the meat of the subject is in the last name, your history and what nature has given you. I must admit though that there are merits to both ideas.

So, we have what is in a name. And letters equaling numbers. We have all the necessary tools to do some interesting math.
a  b  c  d  e  f   g   h   i     j   k     l     m    n     o    p    q    r    s    t    u     v    w    x    y     z
1  2  3 4  5  6  7   8   9   10 11   12   13   14  15  16  17  18  19  20 21  22  23   24  25   26

I was considering how to approach creating an idea of using numbers to define what is in a name. Personality characteristics are to intangible to define numerically (at least at my low level of math), but maybe something like precision or accuracy. I figured, lets take a look at the likelihood that a statement someone says is correct based on their name. It must be considered that this should be less than 100% for your average name. So maybe the fraction of your first and last names would help this:

Mark / Richard=43/61=0.705 or 70.5%

Here the value of the name is defined as the summation of each of the values of the letters. So Mark = m + a + r + k = 13 + 1 + 18 + 11 = 43.

I can't tell if that is way too often or not often enough. Either way, a second test that I considered is that there are many names that this model would not follow. I thought instantly of Yao Meng, both a physics TA here at the University and an NBA player:

Yao / Meng = 41/39 = 1.05 or 105%

So this idea was not going to work. 

At this point it is rather clear that it is not letters in general that make a good name. Someone with the name Zzzzzz A would not necessarily be better than someone else. So, I decided to add another rule.

Some of the most successful people seem to have a trend of consecutive vowels in their names (especially French and Asian people). With this idea, I thought that the value of a name changes depending on vowels, which to me seem like the more powerful letters, giving definition and form to a word. So, now if two or more vowels are consecutive, you multiply them. However, a = 1 so that wouldn't positively affect the value, so let's say that if a is being multiplied, a = 2. So now:

Yao does not equal Y + a + o, Yao = Y + a*o = 25 + (2*15) = 55.

Now, simply adding the two names does not seem sufficient to determine an inherent value, as discussed above with the Z A thing. Some other manipulation must occur.

I assume that your first name is indicative of the nurture you are going to receive, and your last name is indicative of the nature you are receiving. As such, the value of first names that contain an apostrophe are deducted 5 "points". 

Let us say that the added value of your nature and nurture is proportional to the amount of valuable, positive experience you expect to gain by adulthood. However, if your nature value is greater than your nurture value, we can expect some conflict as your inherent nature, whether it be your interests or physical condition, are not good for the molding that your nurture wants.

One way I thought to deal with this is to simply divide your nature value by ten, and use that as a percentage change.

In my case, Mark = 43 and Richard = 61. I expect conflict as a result. 

43/10 = 4.3. So to reduce my nurture value, we say 43* (1 - 0.043) = 43*.957 = 41.2

Thus the quality of my experience from being nurtured is reduced by my inherent nature.

So far we have deduced how to roughly, very roughly,  determine the value of the experience you are gaining by analyzing your name. Give it a try!

I plan on continuing this train of thought, but I believe this is a good place to end before we start graphing functions related to our names.

If you made it this far, I congratulate you. This post is a large step from the norm, but I think that it is kind of fun to calculate! I will be back with more later.