Kolby’s dream of becoming a zoologist and working with elephants saving them from slaughter

Jason and Kaitlyn start our portfolio presentations off with an inspiring opening!

“Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.”      Loretta LaRoche

Hey JUNTO members: feeling it? The balance of the quarter weighing down on you? I see it in your faces…but remember all the things we discussed in class about breathing, positive self-talk, the marshmallow experiement (delayed gratification) and that you are not alone, you have the JUNTO for support.  We are all in this together.

Stressors:  List the ones you are experiencing now in your life?  Sometimes doing the data dump helps relieve the pressure.

Symptons: How do you experience stress? behaviorally, emotionally, mentally, and physically.  Listen when your body is talking to you about being on overload.

Strategies: Each of you has your list of the 10 best stress busters!  Keep that list close and remember, when the going gets tough, the tough whip out their list of stress busters and applies one.  Breathe, laugh, smile, feed yourself good positive self talk, prioritize, say no to anything extra, exercise, drink lots of water, eat healthy, sleep and take some YOU time!  If you can apply even 3 of these- you will be able to get through the next few weeks of the quarter in better shape than you imagined.

What helps me? Focusing on what I can control. Remember Stephen Covey’s circle of influence and circle of concern?  I loved what Kathy did with hers in her portfolio- make it big and list those things you can control and those things you can’t control.  Then FOCUS on the things you can control ONLY.  Use the RAS- remember the Reticular Activating System?  Use it now- fully to focus on what actions will help you succeed.

I am so inspired by your dedication to succeed in college. I hope that you each have been inspired by eachother’s portfolios! What great achievements you all have made. 

Loretta LaRoche’s Stress Cult Membership Requirements - 

(for all you drama queens and kings)

1. Complain often and loudly about how incredibly stressed you are.

1. Form a global whining group to help you affirm how terrible you feel on any given day- or that you would feel worse in the coming weeks.

1. Make sure you never have any time for yourself.

1. Be sure everyone knows that the only time you have for yourself is when you go to the bathroom.

1. Never say “no” to anyone else’s demands on your time.

1. Don’t ask your family to help out. They may see you as incompetent.

1. Be certain you eat on the run so that you can get a good case of acid reflux.

1. Don’t sleep more than a few hours a night; and when you do, make sure to toss and turn a lot that you can get up tired and grumpy.

1. Hope that someone or something will eventually release you from your enslavement to your stressed-out life.

10. Keep hoping that you’ll have fun someday.

Have fun and remember- in 3 weeks, you will be relaxing! 

Good luck!

Jill 

Find Greatness Within

What a fabulous job you all did on your Ali newsletters- I wrote to him and said we hope our lives will inspire him as his life has inspired us. I was impressed by your stories, images and each one’s commitment to achieving goals and personal greatness!

YOU ARE THE GREATEST!

If any of you would like to put your newsletter on this blog- go for it! I am glad we could show them in class…your lives are very amazing!!!:))))

Here is a blurb about the Muhammad Ali Center

The Muhammad Ali Center serves as both a destination site and an international education and cultural center that is inspired by the ideals of its founder Muhammad Ali. The Ali Center’s innovative and immersive visitor experience, public and educational programming, and global initiatives – including conflict resolution training and management – carry on Muhammad’s legacy and continue his life’s work. Two-and-a-half levels of interactive exhibits and captivating multi-media presentations present Ali’s life story through the six core values of his life: respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, and spirituality. Ultimately, the Ali Center strives to inspire you to pursue your potential and explore the greatness that lies within yourself.

Much more than a place that tells the story of one man’s journey, the Ali Center reaches beyond its physical walls to fulfill its mission: To preserve and share the legacy and ideals of Muhammad Ali, to promote respect, hope and understanding, and to inspire adults and children everywhere to be as great as they can be.

Hey all you RSSers!! You have made it past stage 1 (Don’t know what I don’t know) and stage 2 (Know what I don’t know and am freaking out!) of the learning curve. Do you feel like you are rising out of the deep waters of overwhelm?  Feel like you are ascending into stage 3- “I don’t know what I know” on your way to stage 4 “I know what I know?”  

  I enjoyed your essay question responses to describing 3 important pieces of information you are learning about yourself this quarter.  Your answers surprised me and inspired me!

The last two weeks we have been exploring how to become more empowered test takers…

I would say test anxiety is probably one of the top three reasons why students have such a hard time in college.  Who wouldn’t get a bit anxious hearing that they will be tested on material covered in class? The trick is changing how you respond to what may seem as a scary and threatening situation- remember fight, flight, freeze???

Some of you fight the test taking experience  by acting like you are going into battle at test time.  Your body doesn’t know the difference…if you go into a fight reaction, it will send out the necessary adrenaline juices to give you added strength; however, that may not be helpful at all to the thinking brain.  Remember the Cortisol Sludge Imagery (CSI) we talked about? 

Some of you go into a test with an attitude of flight- “Get me out of here!” your mind screams out! How can you possibly call on all your faculties to help you when all you want to do is escape? 

Then there are those of you who freeze.  You sit there with the test and your mind goes blank…”Help!” You are rack your brain for the memorized material but it is nowhere to be found.

 So, we need to rethink the test taking experience.  E+R=O 

Event (test) + Response (your reaction) = outcome

Change your response and you will change your outcome!  Sounds like a no brainer- but it’s not so easy to do.

Why not think about test anxiety in a new way? Without it, researchers have discovered, you would not do well. We all need a little anxiety to motivate us. However, too much anxiety isn’t good.  The trick is to find the balance. If we can befriend the anxiety and see it as a great motivator, then it becomes a beneficial resource rather than a destructive force. We have discussed lots of test taking tips in class, but here are the BEST test success tips I received from students last quarter.

1.  Take a realistic view of the test- no need to go from “I might fail the test to I will be homeless on the streets… ” in one single leap! Your success in life does not hinge on one test! 

2.  Learn relaxation techniques:

• Square breathing is a great one.  4 breaths in, 4 breaths holding, 4 breaths out, and 4 breaths empty.
• Go to your happy place when you feel overwhelm setting in.  Visualize a pleasant and relaxing scene such as a beautiful forest, or a sunset or a soothing sound like rain or ocean waves breaking on the beach.
• Create a success scene in your mind before taking a test; visualize yourself confidently entering the testing room, sitting in your seat, receiving your test, looking it over and knowing all the answers. Then  imagine yourself filling in all the answers, handing the test in and receiving it back with a big fat A on it.  That is a powerful exercise- remember it and always do it. I call it “create your test experience.”  You get to decide in your visualization the best case scenario. Remember the example of the basketball players who practiced lay-up shots and those who only visualized the lay-up shots and how they both did equally as well? “Positive visualizations that highlight your potential success can help replace images of failure that may fuel test anxiety.”  Robert Feldman

3. Prepare thoroughly!  Make a contract with yourself like the one we did in class committing to your test success. State why you deserve an A,  what are you willing to do (example: study 2 hours every day, create flash cards and go through them in your spare time, get with a study group at least once before the test, etc…) to get the A and how you will reward yourself when you get the A (an intrinsic reward-with feelings and an extrinsic reward with a physical reward).  Good preparation gives you a sense of control and leads to mastery.

4. Get help.  Ask about the specifics of the test, look at previous tests and learn from them, and visit with your instructor or a tutor for extra one-on-one assistance.

5. Get adequate sleep, eat protein, and drink plenty of water- your brain cells are floating in a bed of water- keep them fed, rested and plumped up with water!

6. During the test, breathe, look over the entire test to get the lay of the land so that there are no surprises, answer the easy questions first to build confidence, answer questions with the greatest points attached to them, drink water, pace yourself and keep telling yourself messages of support.

Good test preparation requires showing up to class, asking questions, taking good notes (Cornell, Mindmapping, outlining) tuning in (TLQR) and rehearsal.    Good luck with the upcoming tests you have in all your classes!  I hope the exercises we did making flash cards, creating study groups, creating a practice test, playing Jeapordy, and experiencing a rehearsal session have been beneficial to you.

You have lots of ideas here to try; I hope they help. Keep remembering to engage the brain and make it all a game.  Your brain will really perform wonders for you if it thinks it’s having fun. Tell to yourself, “This is FUN!” And one day you will believe it is.

To your test taking success!  Jill