A Bear's Life: Student Stories

Student stories from our peer counselors

Living Alone (Fall 2023, Week 14)

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Greetings, Bears! I can’t believe that we’re already at that point in the semester where things are starting to wrap up. One of the many changes that can occur with the change of the semesters is housing arrangements, as some students move to different residence halls, off-campus, or even potentially have a roommate move out. With those changes happening, I wanted to use my post this week to talk about a perspective that I can share, for any students who may be living alone or preparing to do so for the first time—especially if it was not your first choice. Unfortunately, the holiday season can also bring upon feelings of loneliness for many people, so I thought I would give you my tips, as a student who has lived alone both on and off campus, to help you combat those potential feelings and make the most of your living situation.  

Getting Involved

As I have mentioned in previous posts, getting involved both on and off campus can greatly aid in combatting feelings of loneliness, as well as help you get out of the house (or residence hall/apartment). This can look like a lot of different things, whether you join an organization or just spend time with friends. Either way, it’s important that you make time in your schedule for you to do those things, so that you can prevent feelings of isolation from others. Both the MSU campus and the Springfield community have endless opportunities for involvement. Try to find at least one thing you can start doing every week, even if it’s small, so that you have something to look forward to. I, for example, sometimes like to go roller skating on weekends when I find that I have nothing else to do. If you give it a chance, you are bound to find something that you enjoy, both on and off campus.   

Finding Hobbies

Something else that you can do to help yourself better adjust to living alone is find a hobby or two that you enjoy doing, or something that you will happily devote some extra time to. Occupying yourself at home can make the days where you don’t have class, work, or any other commitments that you are involved in feel more purposeful, as well as bring you joy! Filling your free time with hobbies is a completely necessary act of self-care. Your hobbies can be whatever you want them to be as long as they make you happy. Even in the busiest weeks of the semester, devoting time to your hobbies is a great way to relieve stress or feelings of anxiety about living alone.  

Making the Most of Your Space  

For those who are living alone or preparing to do so unwillingly, it can be hard to believe that there are good things about living alone, but I promise you that there are perks. One of the bigger benefits of living in a space by yourself is that you have full creative control! Another thing that you can do to bring yourself comfort in your living situation is make it your own, which can look like all sorts of things. I loved having the ability to decorate my first residence hall room however I liked, and there’s a chance that you will love that too! Feel free to experiment with décor to create a space that you feel at home in. Feeling comfortable in your space can also aid in combating loneliness and similar anxieties.  

Takeaways

I hope, especially if you are approaching an unexpected solo living situation, that these tips help you feel more comfortable with the idea of living by yourself. It might also be that you have chosen to live alone willingly, which I have done too. No matter what, though, any student is subject to potential feelings of loneliness, even if you live with several roommates, and hopefully these tips can apply to those situations too.

Remember that if you are experiencing feelings of loneliness or unhappiness regarding your situation, there are several on campus resources that can help you, including The Counseling Center and our very own CAST office! Our Peer Mentors would love to talk with you about getting involved on campus and finding other on campus resources. You can request to meet with a Peer Mentor online or come to our drop in hours (Fall 2023: Tuesdays, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays, 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.). I hope that you have a joyful holiday season (if you celebrate) and the best Winter Break. Good luck with the rest of your semester! 

~Hallie 

(Bio: I am a junior out-of-state student studying Creative Writing and Philosophy.)             

Success Coach Introduction – Part 1 (Fall 2023, Week 13)

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Welcome back Missouri State Bears! This week I wanted to take the chance to start a new series introducing our Success Coaches in the Center for Academic Success and Transition (CAST) office. Our success coaches are a helpful resource to students and this is a chance to meet those who all work in our office. 

What is a Success Coach?

A success coach is a graduate student interested in helping undergraduate students succeed. Our success coaches can help with academic skills such as meeting deadlines, time management, goal setting and reaching, test preparation, and identifying strengths and weaknesses. You can use the form to meet with a success coach. This semester we are lucky to have fourteen coaches with a variety of backgrounds and available times to meet that work with you and your schedule. 

Emily Oster

The first success coach I want to introduce is Emily. Emily received her undergrad at Missouri State University and is continuing to work towards her master’s in Speech-Language Pathology. When I asked Emily if she had any tips for first-generation students her reply was “Be proactive rather than reactive. Advocate for yourself early and get ahead!” 

I find Emily’s tip very timely at this point in the semester because for many students this is the time of year when change is occurring. Grades are coming out, schedules are being made, living arrangements are assigned, and more. In these situations, it is vital that organization and time management are used. Success coaches can help with managing all of these things. 

Emily believes students should reach out to a success coach/peer mentor because “we are here to help with the transition from high school to college life. The new lifestyle changes as a first-time college student can be confusing and hard. We are students just like you, so we were just in your shoes not too long ago. We are just here to guide you along the way, answer any questions, and hold you accountable.” 

To end Emily’s introduction off on the right note I asked her for the strangest thing in her backpack and it was a deck of cards. I also asked for a slogan and Emily created “coffee with a side of life.” Emily, among our other success coaches, does a great job and wants to see all Missouri State Bears succeed. 

Kyra Baker

The second success coach I am highlighting today is Kyra. Kyra moved to Missouri State University after completing her undergraduate at a different university. Kyra is here to study Industrial-Organizational Psychology (M.S.). When it was Kyra’s turn for a tip to undergraduate students she said, “Asking for help is a sign of strength and courage, not weakness.”

I personally needed to hear this so I am thankful for Kyra and her wisdom as an asset to our office. Asking for help can seem like an obstacle but it shouldn’t have to. Here in the CAST office, we are here to serve students who need or want help. 

I asked Kyra as well, why students should request a success coach. “College is hard, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Success coaches and peer mentors are a stable source of assistance throughout your college experience, and they genuinely want to help you accomplish your college goals. Never feel bad for advocating for yourself by asking for the help you need to reach your goals!”

The weirdest item in Kyra’s backpack was a pair of soaking wet socks from the torrential downpour of rain. I asked this question because knowing that success coaches are just like us can make us feel more comfortable approaching them. Kyras’s slogan would be, “Unleash your potential” or “Do you have any chocolate?”

Takeaways

Although I only introduced two success coaches today, we have fourteen coaches in total. If anything from this post stuck out to you or you want to meet the other coaches, you can navigate our website and find them listed under the staff tab or keep an eye out for future blog introductions. I hope your biggest takeaway from this post is that our success coaches are here for our students and they want to be a helping hand. 

~Aubrey

(Bio: My name is Aubrey Hardy, a junior studying special needs education. Fun fact: I grew up on a farm.)

How I Manage My Time (Fall 2023, Week 12)

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Hello again, Bears! I am happy to be back for another blog post. This week, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about something that I have struggled with throughout my college career: time management. Have you ever found yourself at 10 o’clock at night asking yourself “Where did the day go?” If so, we are a lot alike. There are many ways that you can conquer time management, and you might already have your set strategy. However, if after midterms or at this point in the semester you are second-guessing yourself or find that you need a new time management plan, you might benefit from my personal time management strategy. Here is what I like to do if I find myself at the end of day asking where the day has gone.  

Knowing My Commitments

Whenever I reach a particular moment where I feel like I’ve lost touch with my time, the first thing that I do is make sure that I know how much of my time I need to devote to all of my commitments. This usually looks like making a list of everything that I have or want to do, like class, work, studying, or hobbies and self-care. I am a visual person, so it helps me to have everything physically written out on a piece of paper. At that point, I usually write out any time that absolutely has to be given to something. For example, I’ll write down when I have class or work, as well as how much time each day I know I need to spend doing homework. Even if I don’t end up making a strict schedule or routine for myself, I find that being conscious of how much time I am spending doing certain things still helps me manage my time much better.  

Deciding My Priorities

When I figure out how much time I have outside of specific commitments, I’m left with an amount of time that I can delegate to whatever I want. This is when deciding what my priorities are comes into play. What I consider a priority can change depending on what I’m doing or what I’m involved in at any given time, but regardless of what they are, I make sure to set aside amounts of time left over from the previous step to be dedicated to those priorities. Lately, my priorities have been self-care, studying, writing, and spending time with my new cat! However, if I have a set of exams coming up, my priorities may change, and I might decide to spend more time studying than writing. The opposite also applies—if I find that I’ve been stressed out lately, I’ll tend to prioritize self-care over studying if I know that I’m in a good place academically. Either way, consistently reflecting on my priorities also aids me with managing my time, even if I don’t follow through with the next step.

Making a Routine

Once I rediscover my current commitments and priorities, I like to sit down and make a routine for myself. It isn’t usually super structured, mostly because I don’t like it to be that way, but even the loosest of structures helps me. Even if you’re like me and don’t like to have things strictly scheduled, a light routine might still benefit you, because it takes away the mental task of deciding what to do at a given time. For example, I like to schedule my time in blocks. In my current routine, I give myself an hour each night for homework or writing. If I come home from school or work that day and I know I have a lot of homework that day or coming up soon, I’ll typically use that time to do homework, but there are also days where I don’t and I choose to write instead. After that, I take a break from schoolwork or writing, and I give myself two hours of free time. I can essentially do whatever I would like, whether that be reading, watching TV, spending time with my cat, or sometimes I continue to do homework or write if I feel inclined to do so. The nice thing about creating your own routine is that you decide what it looks like, and you can also change it at any time if you’re having a hard time sticking with it or you’re unsatisfied with the amount of time that you’re dedicating to a specific thing.  

Takeaways

Even if you already have your time management plan set in stone, I hope you enjoyed learning more about mine. I think that it can be beneficial to learn about how other peers conquer the challenges that college brings, and if you’re wanting to learn more about my strategies or the strategies of the other amazing Peer Mentors and Success Coaches, come visit us in the CAST office! We are now offering drop-in hours on Tuesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., so don’t hesitate to come see us if you are struggling or if you just want to talk. You can also request a Success Coach or Peer Mentor by filling out our Request Form. I hope that you continue to have a successful semester, and I will see you again soon in a future post! 

~Hallie 

(Bio: I am a junior out-of-state student studying Creative Writing with a minor in Philosophy.) 

Welcome New Peer Mentors! (Fall 2023, Week 11)

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This semester we have welcomed two new peer mentors to our team in the Center for Academic Success and Transition office. Peer mentoring is a free and great resource available to all undergraduate students who need a listening ear. Peer mentors are peers on campus who have a desire to help problem-solve and answer questions their peers may have about MSU and college in general. With that being said, Haleigh and Daniel are looking forward to working with students at MSU. You can use the form to fill out a request to meet with a peer mentor if you wish to do so.

Haleigh

Haleigh is majoring in Communications Sciences and Disorders and minoring in Disability Studies. (A note from me: Our peer mentors vary in their academic studies so although it may be helpful to meet with someone who shares your same degree path it is also okay to meet with someone who doesn’t. Peer mentors are peers and we are able to understand and relate to mentees, regardless of their major.) Haleigh’s tip for first-generation college students is “Don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance.”

 

Daniel

Daniel is a  Biology major with an emphasis in Microbiology/Biotechnology and a Chemistry minor with an emphasis in Pre-Health (all on the pre-med track). (A note from me: Something I find unique amongst our staff in the CAST office is our different strengths and areas of interest. For example, I am a special needs education major, and Daniel and I have different ways of thinking but we both share the same desire to help other peers.) Daniel’s tip for first-generation students is “to seek opportunities to network with others and build up a support system in college because that will help you get through college while knowing that you have help!”

 

Why You Should Meet with a Peer Mentor

Haleigh and Daniel both agree that every MSU student should consider meeting with a peer mentor. Haleigh said the program can “help you have a smooth transition to college and get a little extra support when you need it.” Daniel added, “We can help students identify their strengths and weaknesses, improve time management, and even just help students connect with others and utilize campus resources.”

If you would like to meet with a peer mentor, you can use our request form. Or stop by our Fall 2023 Peer Mentor Drop-In hours on Tuesdays 1-2:30 p.m. and Wednesdays 2:30-4 p.m., in Meyer Library 116 (next to the Bear CLAW).

 

Fun Question for the Peer Mentors

Just for fun, I decided to ask Haleigh and Daniel what the strangest thing was in their backpack at the time. Haleigh had beef jerky and Daniel had a pair of safety glasses. Do you have anything strange in your backpack?

 

Takeaways

We’re excited to welcome Haleigh and Daniel to CAST and we look forward to students coming in to meet with a peer mentor. Peer mentors are a great resource when you need a listening ear or advice from a peer who has shared experiences.

~Aubrey

(Bio: My name is Aubrey Hardy, a junior studying special needs education. Fun fact: I grew up on a farm.)

Upholding Tradition (Fall 2023, Week 9)

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Welcome back after fall break Missouri State students! It is Homecoming week, a tradition Missouri State University has had for over 100 years. This year’s Homecoming theme is “To Maroon and Back” and the Homecoming committee has worked hard to prepare the week’s festivities. The tradition of Homecoming brings the campus and community together all week long with the crowning at the Saturday football game concluding the celebration. 

 

Who can Participate in Homecoming?

Missouri State University is very inclusive when it comes to Homecoming as every student has the opportunity to participate throughout the week. If watching the Missouri State athletic teams is what interests you the most, a list of sports games is available on the alumni page of Missouri State University’s website. My favorite event to attend is the parade Saturday morning of Homecoming. Everyone is invited to the parade to watch king and queen candidates,  bands from surrounding high schools, and floats and parade entries make their way through campus.  

 

Why is Homecoming and Tradition Important?

Coming to college you most likely have the desire to feel seen and a part of something bigger than yourself. Tradition provides an opportunity to get involved and invested in your college campus. If you find that tradition is something that you value consider joining the Tradition Council. Beyond traditions, there are other ways to find where you belong on campus and the Center for Academic Success and Transition (CAST) is here to help. CAST’s Peer Mentors are happy to help work with MSU students to find campus organizations and other ways to get involved on campus.

 

Takeaways

Homecoming is a well-known and positive experience for many current and previous students at Missouri State University. It is a time to bring everyone together and find joy in tradition. I highly encourage everyone to attend all that they can during the week and discover something new about the Missouri State campus.

~Aubrey

(Bio: My name is Aubrey Hardy, a junior studying special needs education. Fun fact: I grew up on a farm.)