A Bear's Life: Student Stories

Student stories from our peer counselors

Archives for September 2021

Peer-to-Peer Interactions (Fall 2021, Week 6)

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Feeling Alone in a Campus Full of Students

I think many people have heard the saying, “I feel like I am alone in a room full of people.” Usually when someone says this, they mean that, regardless of how many others are around, they still feel alone. This is an experience that I think some MSU students, including me, can relate to every once in a while. Because of this, it is important for us to have peer-to-peer interactions, which can come in many ways. Today I will talk about two that can help you work together with other students to be successful!

Two Brains are Better Than One

How much do you think you know about something? How much more do you know than somebody else? Does another student know the same things as you? Questions like these are one reason working with other students is important. During our academic career, we are faced with boundless amounts of content, and sometimes it can be a lot for one person to handle. A good way to deal with this is studying with others. Studying with other students has multiple benefits including:

  • Each person involved can share their own personal view on a subject.
  • This can help others gain further understanding of a concept from seeing it in a new way.
  • Teaching each other is one of the best ways to learn.
  • The knowledge of multiple people overall makes everyone gain more extensive understanding of the subject being studied.

Picking regular times and places to study with others, staying after class to have brief discussions with other students and even group chats are all easy ways to make studying with other students happen. And each way will make every participant a better student over time. So, if you’re the kind of person who likes to make group chats for all your classes, keep it up!

It’s Hard to Give Yourself a Pat on the Back

As you may have experienced by now, college can be a very stressful time. In light of this stress, there’s nothing better than talking to someone else about what may be occupying your thoughts. Bottling up your stress can keep you up at night, mess with your diet, make you struggle to learn and affect you in other ways. However, a beautiful thing about MSU is that you will meet so many people, some who could become lifelong friends, some who may be in a similar situation and can understand your concerns. When you talk to friends or others about stressful situations, it can help with:

  • Mental clarity
  • Creating more capacity to focus on studying
  • Relaxing
  • Higher contentment
  • Building good relationships

As a peer counselor/mentor, I can tell you that there is always someone around who will understand and relate to your situation. This is why you should never feel ashamed to be stressed or confused about something. It’s okay to share your concerns with others.

Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Out

I hope this gives you a better idea of why it is so important to talk and work with others during your time as a student. Practice reaching out to others and forming those connections so you can work together to become even better students. Good luck!

(Bio: My name is Michael Rexroad, a transfer student from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. I am a senior currently studying cell and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry.)

Emotionally Adjusting to College (Fall 2021, Week 5)

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Hello Readers, I hope the semester has been going well for you all.

These last few weeks I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my journey at Missouri State and how everything was for me as a freshman living on campus. When I was growing up, I didn’t attend any parties, join groups or make friends very quickly because my parents shielded me from a lot. During my senior year of high school, I came out of my shell more and was seemingly ready for college. Going to Missouri State excited me, but I didn’t realize exactly what it would mean until my family drove me to Springfield for move-in day and then left to go back home. I slowly figured out, then and as more time passed, how important emotional adjustment is to someone’s college experience.

Emotionally Adjusting to College

I’m going to give you some of my best pieces of advice and tips to help with adjusting to your time at Missouri State or any college for that matter.

Know your way around campus

My first year on campus during Welcome Week, I walked around campus to find my classes’ buildings and the places I would be visiting often like the library. Knowing where everything is can help you feel a lot more in control of yourself and avoid things that can stress you out like getting lost. With a big campus like this one, being familiar with campus can help you to feel better about where you’re living and spending so much time.

Decorate your dorm/living space

College dorms rarely have the designs or the aesthetics that you like so decorating and moving furniture around can be a big help to you emotionally. Where you live is the place that you’re most likely coming back to after classes and to unwind for the day. Decorating your place can help you feel more at home and comfortable. College is already a different and new adventure on its own, so make sure you have a positive or uplifting space to go back to after class.

Keep in contact with your family and friends

Even if it’s only a text or a five-minute phone call, communicating with everyone you care about can be important for you emotionally. Your family, friends, or anyone that you’re close with can be there when you need to talk, vent, or just ask for help. Communicating with people back home can keep you going and be part of your biggest support system. Keep as many of your strong connections as possible while you’re in college. It’s also important to note that if you don’t come into MSU with a great support system, you can create one here from new friends, instructors, advisors, and others.

Always ask for help, even if you don’t think you need it

I’m very guilty of not asking my professors questions that could have helped me understand the class better. Emotional adjustment is important inside and outside the classroom so if you feel disconnected from a lesson, confused by material or just need to gain clarity, be sure to ask questions. You can avoid stress this way, improve your grades and even learn things other students don’t know.

Take time for yourself

College has a way of trying to run your life; learning to overcome this can benefit you the most. Emotional adjustment is centered around you and if you aren’t doing great emotionally then everything else can suffer. Don’t lose yourself in college but if you do, pull yourself out. Make time for yourself, have fun with your friends, treat yourself and never lose sight of what’s important to you.

Takeaways

These tips and pieces of advice are intended to assist you in emotionally adjusting to college life. Keep in mind, however, that adjusting takes time and every student is different. Take the time to figure out how you operate individually as a student and think about what keeps you going. Also keep in mind that the MSU Counseling Center is available to support students with their personal and social concerns.

These tips continue to work wonders for me, so I hope they do some magic for you too.

Happy Week Five!!!

~Alexandria

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)

My Time Has Come (Fall 2021, Week 4)

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My Time Has Come

For three years now I have gone through my academic career as a Cell and Molecular Biology student, and it has been a great ride. The connections, relationships and experiences I have had make me happy I chose this major! However, the end is coming near for me. This is the time when seniors must make a big decision about what comes next. In my case, I am applying to graduate school to enter a Genetic Counseling program.

Senior Year: Part 2

This time of my life is like redoing my senior year of high school when I had to choose a university for my undergrad years! I am deciding where I will go, sending transcripts and planning to fill out applications. Although stressful, it has been a fun time. In this blog post, I want to share what this process is like right now and in the future hopefully I can share the end result!

The Big Decision

I am going into Genetic Counseling, a medical genetics-based job that includes working one-on-one with patients to help them determine risk and causes of genetic diseases. My first big choice is the school. This will be based on where I would like to live during the two-year program, what kind of clinical rotations are available, specific focuses in coursework (bioethics, prenatal, research) and how much I like the university in general. All these factors must be taken into account so that I, or any other student, end up at a school that fits my style, career goals and personal preferences for emphasis. Determining all these things about a graduate school requires a lot of online research into the programs’ admissions requirements, coursework and physical locations/cities and emailing staff at the university with questions.

Every Good Paper Has Sources and References

Like any good paper, a student who wants to enter graduate school must have sources and references to back them up. For graduate school, these “sources” include CVs/resumes, transcripts and personal statements:  anything that gives the school’s admissions some information about who you are. “References” for a student are letters of recommendation, which allow admissions to get a view of who you are from an outside source (another person). These two things are very important to an application because the graduate schools need to get an idea of how you perform, what you have done, why you deserve to attend and how you display yourself to those around you.

The Present and Future

So, right now I am in the process of finding out where I will go and getting together all of these documents and letters to set up my process. For anyone who is considering graduate school, I want you to know that, even though it is a scary process, it will pay off. Later this year, once I have done my applications and interviews, I plan to come back and share with you all what the journey was like. As always, thank you for reading!

(Bio: My name Is Michael Rexroad, a transfer student from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. I am a senior currently studying cell and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry.)

Overcoming Worries and Concerns (Fall 2021, Week 3)

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Welcome back Bears! I hope that the beginning of everyone’s semester is going great.

Usually, when I’m in the process of writing a post, I like to think about what students, readers, or anyone, in general, would find the most interesting. I figured the best way to start this semester off was with a blog post that showcases myself and my thought processes.

I’ve been a Missouri State Bear for the last few years of my life, and I can honestly say that MSU has challenged me to grow and get through whatever hurdles are thrown my way. I do struggle sometimes but, at this point, I’ve found a variety of roads that have led to my success. I’m going to be a Missouri State Bear for another year, and I know that some of the issues I’ve faced during my first few years of college will come up again this year. Fortunately, I’ve met tons of great people on campus and in my personal life who have helped me overcome each one.

In this post, I want to share with you some of my worries and concerns and how I’ve learned to respond and overcome them.

Worries/Concerns and Responses

  • Feeling Incapable or Inadequate: Being a business major has been tough. Sometimes I feel like I could be doing better and have considered changing majors as an easy way out. I know I can do the work, but it feels like others can do it better.
    • My response: There is always going to be someone to compare yourself with, but comparisons are not usually helpful. I’ve challenged myself to know my worth and rely on my hard work to showcase itself.
  • Burning myself out: Everyone has a limit and sometimes I get to a point where I’m tired or I’m in a pattern that I just can’t shake.
    • My response: I tell myself it’s okay to be tired or find myself in a position where I feel drained. I acknowledge what I’m going through, talk to as many people as I can and remember that taking time away from my studies can have a positive effect on my work.
  • Making friends is hard for me: College is entirely different from high school from just about every angle and nothing prepared me for creating friendships that weren’t already formed during earlier years.
    • My response: Having friends is a great benefit, but it doesn’t make me. I’ve decided to focus on making friends when I’m ready, not when others tell me I need to. I find that I like meeting new people and just being a good friend/resource.
  • I’m graduating a year later than projected (a story for a future post): The year 2021 was supposed to be my final year at MSU. When it didn’t turn out that way, “past Alex” had a problem with it. I don’t like feeling like I’m being left behind or that I messed things up for myself.
    • My response: Even though “past Alex” had a problem with graduating later, “present Alex” understands that college isn’t a race. I remind myself that when you’re in college you compete with yourself to get where you want to be; competing against others will just wear you down.

Takeaway

My worries and concerns are going to stay with me forever and I see that as a true testament to my growth. They reassure me that I can get past anything. Coming to Missouri State has been one of the best decisions I ever made because, without the support systems on campus or my family, I probably wouldn’t be able to showcase any growth or be able to share my journey. I’m going to be a Bear for a while longer and I’m going to enjoy every second.

Your experiences as a Missouri State Bear are going to be different from mine, but maybe you’ll have some of the same worries or concerns. Even if you have different ones, I hope that by sharing my experiences with you, you’ll see how to make good outcomes from anything negative you might encounter.

See you next post! There are some interesting topics coming.

~Alexandria

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)