Monday, January 23, 2012

Advice for All Ages

It was mid-December, and approaching at an alarming rate were the most dreaded days of the semester for almost any student. In just five days, finals week was set to begin. I was sitting in the very last class for the semester for one of my courses, and the professor asked us whether we were nervous about our exams (um, yes?). Before leaving, she said she had just a few words of advice, and that the advice would be the same words she told her children every morning before they got on the school bus. She wanted us to keep these words in mind, not just during our final exams, but throughout the remainder of our time at K-State and throughout our careers. She said,

Be nice. Do your best. Be teachable.

It seems easy, does it not? But, how easy is it to become caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget something so easy? Often, we can follow this advice in the simplest situations.

Be Nice. This one seems to be the easiest to act upon, yet can also be the easiest to forget. However, we know that the simplest act can make the greatest impact on someone else. We can brighten another person’s day simple by being kind. Think about that moment that I’m sure many of us have experienced where we pass someone going in the opposite direction, make eye contact, and just awkwardly turn away. Well, I’m here to save us all from future awkward situations such as this with a single-word solution: smile. Smiles are contagious. Smiles can turn a person’s gloomy day into a brighter one. What about that person who seems lonely or left out? It sounds like a golden opportunity to make a new friend. And, isn’t it a nice feeling to receive help on something when we need it? Well, isn’t it an even nicer feeling to give help when someone else needs it? Sometimes, by making an effort to simply be nice to others, we make our own day just a little bit better!

Do Your Best. Let’s admit it. Sometimes, we just have a lazy day. It’s easy to do just enough to get by on some days, instead of striving to give it our 100%. Let’s say that we know we have a quiz tomorrow. We should probably dedicate at least a few minutes of our evening to studying for that quiz, shouldn’t we? So, we glance through our notes until we think we have enough of the information stored in our brains to pass the quiz. I mean, studying for a few minutes, hoping for the best, and spending the rest of the evening watching our favorite television show seems like a much more enjoyable way to end the day. However, by doing this, are we really doing the absolute best that we can do on that quiz the next day? Are we really challenging our minds to truly understand what we are taught in that class? Are we helping ourselves by doing just enough to get by? It’s all about striving to be the best we can be whenever we have the opportunity to take that extra step.

Be Teachable. The art of learning doesn’t simply involve attending class or listening to the information someone presents us. To truly learn, we must be teachable. We must be open to accept the suggestions or information coming our way. It doesn’t sound too difficult, but I will be the first to admit that personally, I can be stubborn. A few weeks ago, I was getting into my car to run a couple of errands. Now, I am still trying to learn my way around Manhattan, and do not particularly enjoy driving when I don’t know where exactly I am going. So, I turned on my trusty GPS, fondly named Lucy Lou. However, just because the GPS told me to turn one direction doesn’t mean I listened. I thought the GPS had to be wrong, and because I refused to allow the GPS to teach me how to successfully reach my destination, I drove around pointlessly for much longer than I needed to. Sometimes, it is easy to pass up the opportunity to learn by simple not allowing ourselves to be teachable.

The advice that my professor gives to her children before they go to school everyday is advice we can all take to heart everyday! Be nice. Do your best. Be teachable.