New year, new you

by Konni Wilson

The start of a new year is a time of reflection - a time for turning new leaves, getting more organized and making the most out of the new year. Likewise, with the start of a new semester comes a time for reflection, to think about how you can make this semester even better than the last.

Spent too much time on Facebook? Skipped a couple too many classes? Well now is the time to take all those regrets and move forward. Whether its making healthier eating choices, or making more time to study, when it comes to anything in life, especially in college life, there’s always room for improvement. Take it from these students who learned a lot from their first semester in college.

Aileen Patoc, a local student at UH Manoa, learned just how different college really is from high school. Along with having over a hundred students in one class and living without parents, she realized that professors are not like high school teachers. They won’t hound you and make sure you turn in your homework; they set deadlines and its your job to meet them. 

“I have to rely on myself more, not my professors," says Patoc. "There’s so much more students than professors in a class, they can’t keep tabs on everyone.”

konni wilson / KA LAMAKUA

Sean Hanni is already getting started on one of his new 

semester resolutions by living a more active lifestyle 

while away from his Colorado home. 

Sean Hanni, another first-year student from Colorado, had a set of expectations for his first semester in college just like everyone else. Unfortunately it didn’t play out the way he expected it to go. 

“I was kind of expecting to have a great roommate that I would be good friends with, that I would breeze through all my classes, and that I’d have a solid group of best friends," says Hanni. "In reality, I don’t really like my roommate at all and my grades didn’t reflect my true potential.” 

After thinking back on last semester, saying that we have regrets is all too common. But its what we do with those regrets that really matter. Patoc regrets procrastinating and letting everything pile up. And with the freedom that comes from new independence, it’s very easy to get distracted. 

As Patoc put it, “You have all the time in the world to do anything you want.” Hanni wishes he tried harder to get off campus and see the rest of the island. But they didn’t let the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” of last semester get them down. Both have “new semester resolutions” to guarantee more success and satisfaction for this Spring semester.

“I’m going to really crack down on studying and staying on top of my classes,” says Hanni. He admits his classes would be much easier if he spent more time reading notes and textbooks than going on Facebook and playing Family Feud. I know I plan to spend less time on Facebook as well.

Patoc wants to branch out and network more this semester as well. 

“I’m more open to meeting more new people, making study groups, and figuring out how to makes good grades this semester," Patoc says.