Dodging Distractions

It’s a typical evening at college. You are armed with your textbook, laptop, notes, and your churning brain to write a report for your science class. Your fingers hover over the keyboard as you try to force your brain to form words to type. Nothing is coming to your mind, and you are frustrated. It feels like you are trying to decipher the English language to be able to use it.

Frustrated, you reach for your phone or open another tab on your laptop to check on your social media. You text your friends, you tweet about how hard it is to write this science report, you look up a question that randomly flew into your head, and you end up reading an article about cats and how they have complete control over you. Suddenly, you realize an hour has passed, and you haven’t even tried to go back to type your report.

Sounds familiar, right? Okay, maybe it wasn’t a cat article, but you get my point: we all get distracted! In our everyday modern life, we are surrounded by so many distractions that it can be hard to focus on our daily tasks. You are not alone! Your fellow students, professors, and even your parents have to battle distractions to get their work done every single day.

It is our job to train ourselves with healthier habits that can help us stay on task and finish what our homework. That being said, it does not mean you cannot have a social life or a paid job. However, as a full-time student, you have a full-time job to complete and balance your studies and work. You need to arrange your life around your classes, not the other way around.

Here are some helpful tips to maintain a less stressful and distraction-free semester:

  1. Find Your Niche. Have a place that is designated as your study area. If you repeatedly use the same area over a long period of time, it is easier for the brain to seamlessly go into homework or study mode. This can be anywhere that works for you! If you need extra quiet time, you can always go to the circulation desk in the library and ask for a key to one of the study carrels on the second floor.
  2. Turn It Off. Simply turn off your electronics so that if a notification sounds or lights up your screen, there will not be a need to check your phone. Some people need background music to study. Perhaps that’s you! If so, put on some light, instrumental music, and let your creative juices flow!
  3. Plan It. Set aside a block of time for your studies. In that way, you will go to your study place and have time saved for that use only just as you would for a class.
  4. Do Intervals. Research shows that if you study or work for 20-25 minutes on a paper and then take 5-10 minute break, you will think more quickly and complete assignments faster. The study interval gives the brain time to focus and relax.
  5. Balance. Have time for your studies and for your social life. It is hard, if not impossible, to juggle both at the same time and play catch up on one or both. Balancing allows you to relax and enjoy your friends’ company and have a better quality of work. Schedule time for your studying and homework and then make time for your social life. To make this more effective for you, start papers sooner and spend an hour each day working on that paper. The result will be less stress and more time to spend with friends.

Imagine your grades improving, having a social life, and stressing less about your classes. Sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? By eliminating distractions and promoting healthier habits of studying, you become more effective in different areas of life, especially when you graduate from college and move onto your career. The best part is that the tool that you need to accomplish distraction-free studying is you. You are your own key to success.

-Sierra Fales

Sierra Fales is a senior English major at Castleton University.

From Stardom to Service: Meet TRIO Star Weslee Thompson

Growing up on the island of Guam, Weslee Thompson did not imagine attending college in Vermont. A talented athlete, he seemed destined for soccer stardom. When he was seventeen, an injury derailed his dreams. He still recalls the hurt he felt when his physical therapist told him he would never again play competitive soccer.

But one dream’s demise led to another. “Having a negative experience with a physical therapist made me want to pursue physical therapy,” Weslee says. “I knew what it was like to be in a vulnerable position. I wanted to come alongside people and work with them.” At the time, Weslee hoped to rehabilitate injured athletes.

Weslee’s new goals led him to Castleton University, where he pursued a double major in health science and psychology. Although the health science degree would give him the prerequisites for graduate school, he knew understanding human behavior would allow him to better support patients.

Like all first-year students, Weslee had to adapt to a new academic environment. Unlike most of his classmates, he had to pay his own way through college. He accepted a full-time position at McDonalds and quickly became a shift manager.

Juggling a full-time job and courses for two majors proved challenging even for a student as dedicated as Weslee. He invested in a planner. “I discovered a passion for color coordinating,” he chuckles. Always a competent writer, he met with Writing Clinic tutors and the Writing Specialist to make his papers even stronger.

Weslee’s formula worked. Now in his junior year, he still works full-time while maintaining a 4.00 GPA as a double major. Outside of class, he embraces other intellectual opportunities. This summer, he worked with psychology professor Greg Engel, conducting genetic research on ethanol tolerance in fruit flies.

And despite Weslee’s hectic schedule, he still finds time to help others. He is a writing tutor at Castleton’s Academic Support Center; he has also tutored students in anatomy and psychology. For the past two years, he has served a Student Orientation Staffer (SOS), helping new students acclimate to life at Castleton. Being a mentor has proven rewarding. “I’m most proud when people come up to me between classes and say I’ve helped them,” he says. “I’m more proud of that than anything I’ve accomplished myself.”

The desire to help others led Weslee to Castleton. Since then, his journey has taken another turn. This summer, an internship at Rutland’s Back on Track Physical Therapy affirmed his interest in the field. Through his internship, he discovered a passion for helping injured veterans. “I’d like to help those who’ve served get back to their lives,” he says quietly.

During his time at Castleton, Weslee has made an excellent impression on faculty and staff. “I feel immensely lucky to have known Wes as a student and an employee,” says Doe Dahm, Writing Specialist and adjunct professor of English. “It’s rare to find a student with his level of personal and intellectual maturity. When I first met him and he said he wanted to be a physical therapist, I thought, ‘Yes. I could envision him working with my elderly family members.’ He’s ready to enter the professional world.”

 In the meantime, Weslee is making the most of his time at Castleton. He hopes that new students will also enjoy their undergraduate years. “Time management is crucial, but it is possible to breathe,” he says. “Make sure you give yourself time to pursue your own passions.”


What I Wish I Knew as a Freshman

College is a time of big changes in your life, and those changes can be both pleasant and absolutely miserable. For me, they were miserable.

I went to a small high school in Vermont, where I was the captain of the football and lacrosse teams and just an overall popular guy within the school and the community. Life was good for me; I had as many great friends as I could possibly ask for, and I was content with where I was.

When I rolled into college my freshmen year, I tried to be optimistic – for about a week – but not long after that, I started getting feelings of regret and loneliness.  Castleton was the absolute last place that I wanted to be. It was hard for me to leave my life, my family, and, more importantly, my best friends, who I had been with my whole life.  I spent that whole first year miserable and depressed. I went home every single weekend, trying my hardest not to leave my past life behind me.

Life since has gotten much better, all because of a few simple changes. These tips certainly will not be universally helpful, but if I can help even one person get through some hard times, I will feel better about my tough start.  

So that said, here are some things I wish I knew as a freshman:

You are not too cool to participate: This was a big one for me. I roomed with a friend from high school, so when the time came to participate in orientation events or activities put on by community advisors, I turned up my nose at the idea and refused to get out and do some events. I chose to just be with the person I knew best at school. I missed out on opportunities to meet new people and make friends by not participating in campus events.

Realize that college IS a new chapter in your life: As painful as it may be, high school is over, and you’ll be better off not trying to avoid that fact. Keep your great memories and hold them close, but it is time to go out and make some new ones!

Talk to someone: Alright… to be honest, I heard this from professors all the time especially in first-year-seminar, and I neglected to listen. Don’t be like me. Talk to someone. Whether it’s a friend, or a roommate, a professor, a CA, or even someone in the Wellness Center, I promise it will feel better if someone knows how you are feeling.

Make campus your home: Going home on the weekends is great. I still do it from time to time. But for me, each time I go home, it makes it harder for me to want to come back. So try to make your dorm as comfortable and as homelike as possible, and stay on campus on weekends. It is hard to get a college dorm to replace the place where you grew up, but the more at home you can feel at school, the better.

Evaluate your options: All colleges are different, college isn’t for everyone, and that is perfectly fine. Evaluate if Castleton is the place for you, and if it isn’t, try something new.

This is by no means a one-size-fits-all solution to a happy freshmen year. But if I had done these things, my first year here could have been much better.  

Take a deep breath, and just know that everything will be okay.

-Isaac Ryea

Isaac Ryea graduated summa cum laude from Castleton University in May 2018. Today, he is a fifth grade special education teacher in Highgate, Vermont.