some article. this was late at night
Xavierite Article - 10-16-04 by Chris Lichosyt
I was in the middle of writing an article on why satellite radio is good, when I realized it was the worst thing I had ever written. I ended it with these exact words: “AH, THIS ARTICLE IS FRICKIN’ TERRIBLE!! I quit, it’s over!” You may think I’m crazy for typing to myself, but being at home all day due to sickness has warped my mind. I decided to write a second article from scratch. While sitting at home on an appalling October Saturday, I looked at where I am in this point of my life. Now, join me as I get some things off my chest. And please, stay till the end.
First and foremost, college is hard. An academic scholarship stresses me out even more. High school did an awful job of preparing me for what I have encountered here. I’ve been fighting illness all week, and I realized that every single day this week has been a battle. Going to school with a constant need of tissues, followed by work and essays, then tackling a big exam, writing newspaper articles, working out, getting a haircut, filling out long surveys, going on a mandatory field trip downtown with an empty stomach and bronchitis, getting my oil changed, going to guitar lessons, doing homework and essays, and still going to do my job as a producer at WXAV has been insanity. It’s midway through my first semester at college, and I have come very close to losing my mind. I doubt that it’s going to get any easier, either.
In high school, I just went around and looked for ways to entertain myself, without a care in the world. I had the whole school thing figured out. Tests, homework, and getting to class on time were minor annoyances. School was just a big social gathering, and some part time working after school was cake. I had so much time to waste. I figured college would be the same thing, with a more interesting schedule. As the last paragraph points out, that isn’t the case at all.
Sunday afternoons and Saturday nights are kind of relaxing, I’ll admit, but the rest of the week is like trying to stay on your feet in the middle of an earthquake during a blizzard while juggling chainsaws and tap dancing in roller skates. At SXU, every minute of my life is used for something. I can’t just sit and play video games for hours or destroy my brain with reality T.V. College is a wake up call. Unless I win the lottery and drop out of school to go on a world tour with the best musicians I could find, I’ll have to study harder than I’ve ever studied before (which hasn’t been much) and manage my time like an expert time manager.
As the weekend came, some chicken wings from Hooters provided temporary relief from the horrors of school. Soon after, I turned on the news. I saw “war on terror” this and “political debate” that and ‘Howard Stern said so and so” and “the weather will be terrible from here on out”. The depressing news made me go on the internet. I checked my email and received something with pictures of how bad things are for everyone in Iraq and why we shouldn’t complain about stupid stuff. I cursed the inanimate computer monitor and yelled, “Ha, you don’t know what it’s like being in college!!” By that time, I was also developing some heartburn from the spicy chicken. I began to lose my mind.
When I was about to go lock myself in the room to listen to the Cure and rock back and forth in a corner, I realized something. The computer was right. I have no right to complain. I have the opportunity to go to college, a great family, lots of friends, and a good job. I began to notice that my stressful life is so easy. I take everything for granted. And I’m sure many of you do, too. I began looking at my life from a positive point of view.
I may complain about all the tasks I had to do, but I actually handled everything. I’ve noticed that college has already changed me into one heck of a responsible guy. I looked at my SXU entrance essay I wrote towards the middle of senior year. I had talked about my expectations in college. I wrote, “I will do my best to be successful with hard work and dedication, as I always have. I’ll take advantage of the great learning environment, and I’ll use it as the beginning to a promising career.” Hard work and dedication. The two things I completely forgot about. Recently, I was under the assumption that I could just fly through college like you see in the funny movies, with hilarious consequences. I ignored the fact that I was here to learn and work, and not just going around meeting new people and being all like, “yeah, I’m in college, I’m so cool.”
Being successful in life takes an extraordinary amount of effort. All of us here at St. Xavier (especially the freshman) should realize that we’re blessed to really have the opportunity to be here. It took me several weeks to see that. From this day forward, I will go about doing what I need to do with renewed determination. I just hope that everyone else can realize how we should take advantage of our “great learning environment” instead of partying all night and only coming to classes when it’s absolutely necessary. We can’t take this for granted, considering how many people’s parents are paying for their tuition and dorms. Well, I’m done and off to sleep because my life will go into overdrive again in a few hours, and I need some rest.
I was in the middle of writing an article on why satellite radio is good, when I realized it was the worst thing I had ever written. I ended it with these exact words: “AH, THIS ARTICLE IS FRICKIN’ TERRIBLE!! I quit, it’s over!” You may think I’m crazy for typing to myself, but being at home all day due to sickness has warped my mind. I decided to write a second article from scratch. While sitting at home on an appalling October Saturday, I looked at where I am in this point of my life. Now, join me as I get some things off my chest. And please, stay till the end.
First and foremost, college is hard. An academic scholarship stresses me out even more. High school did an awful job of preparing me for what I have encountered here. I’ve been fighting illness all week, and I realized that every single day this week has been a battle. Going to school with a constant need of tissues, followed by work and essays, then tackling a big exam, writing newspaper articles, working out, getting a haircut, filling out long surveys, going on a mandatory field trip downtown with an empty stomach and bronchitis, getting my oil changed, going to guitar lessons, doing homework and essays, and still going to do my job as a producer at WXAV has been insanity. It’s midway through my first semester at college, and I have come very close to losing my mind. I doubt that it’s going to get any easier, either.
In high school, I just went around and looked for ways to entertain myself, without a care in the world. I had the whole school thing figured out. Tests, homework, and getting to class on time were minor annoyances. School was just a big social gathering, and some part time working after school was cake. I had so much time to waste. I figured college would be the same thing, with a more interesting schedule. As the last paragraph points out, that isn’t the case at all.
Sunday afternoons and Saturday nights are kind of relaxing, I’ll admit, but the rest of the week is like trying to stay on your feet in the middle of an earthquake during a blizzard while juggling chainsaws and tap dancing in roller skates. At SXU, every minute of my life is used for something. I can’t just sit and play video games for hours or destroy my brain with reality T.V. College is a wake up call. Unless I win the lottery and drop out of school to go on a world tour with the best musicians I could find, I’ll have to study harder than I’ve ever studied before (which hasn’t been much) and manage my time like an expert time manager.
As the weekend came, some chicken wings from Hooters provided temporary relief from the horrors of school. Soon after, I turned on the news. I saw “war on terror” this and “political debate” that and ‘Howard Stern said so and so” and “the weather will be terrible from here on out”. The depressing news made me go on the internet. I checked my email and received something with pictures of how bad things are for everyone in Iraq and why we shouldn’t complain about stupid stuff. I cursed the inanimate computer monitor and yelled, “Ha, you don’t know what it’s like being in college!!” By that time, I was also developing some heartburn from the spicy chicken. I began to lose my mind.
When I was about to go lock myself in the room to listen to the Cure and rock back and forth in a corner, I realized something. The computer was right. I have no right to complain. I have the opportunity to go to college, a great family, lots of friends, and a good job. I began to notice that my stressful life is so easy. I take everything for granted. And I’m sure many of you do, too. I began looking at my life from a positive point of view.
I may complain about all the tasks I had to do, but I actually handled everything. I’ve noticed that college has already changed me into one heck of a responsible guy. I looked at my SXU entrance essay I wrote towards the middle of senior year. I had talked about my expectations in college. I wrote, “I will do my best to be successful with hard work and dedication, as I always have. I’ll take advantage of the great learning environment, and I’ll use it as the beginning to a promising career.” Hard work and dedication. The two things I completely forgot about. Recently, I was under the assumption that I could just fly through college like you see in the funny movies, with hilarious consequences. I ignored the fact that I was here to learn and work, and not just going around meeting new people and being all like, “yeah, I’m in college, I’m so cool.”
Being successful in life takes an extraordinary amount of effort. All of us here at St. Xavier (especially the freshman) should realize that we’re blessed to really have the opportunity to be here. It took me several weeks to see that. From this day forward, I will go about doing what I need to do with renewed determination. I just hope that everyone else can realize how we should take advantage of our “great learning environment” instead of partying all night and only coming to classes when it’s absolutely necessary. We can’t take this for granted, considering how many people’s parents are paying for their tuition and dorms. Well, I’m done and off to sleep because my life will go into overdrive again in a few hours, and I need some rest.