Behind the Redwood Curtain in the rural coast town of Eureka, California lays a community college nestled into the heart of a redwood forest just off highway 101. Growing up in Eureka proper with the coastal hiking cliffs and old growth redwoods as my backyard I had no idea how good I had it.
If I had known that it would take me seven years of attending community college off and on to graduate with a transfer degree and make the move to San Francisco I would have managed my time a trifle differently. At the same time, it took me that long to learn to change my habits and manage school, work and extracurricular activities. The irony of learning time management is that it takes time. I would like to share a few things I have learned with the hope that you might find them useful, even if you still need to make your own mistakes.
#1. You do NOT have to plan out your entire life (because that is just silly and a waste of time) but you DO NEED to keep and manage a schedule. Make it BY HAND or at the very least keep a paper planner, not a web-based one. If you are a visual person the effect of seeing hourly, weekly, monthly, and full semester flows is really helpful. Color code things such as time at work, time in class, time studying, time enjoying the bountiful beauty of the Redwood Coast right on campus and weekends in the forest or at the beach, important due dates, and leave BLANK spaces for whatever comes up. DO NOT schedule every moment of your life. Unexpected things come up all the time. LOOK AT YOUR SCHEDULE. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
#2. Sometimes put your schedule aside and be spontaneous. There is a natural wisdom in straying from the grid.
#3. Get involved with on campus activities, clubs, organizations, events, internships when possible, teaching assistant-ships, etcetera. Not only will this increase your academic success, but it will increase your confidence in a number of areas including team building, professional experience, building relationships and deepening your understanding of yourself.
#4. Cultivate relationships with advisors, professors, friends, and classmates as if they are for the long term, because chances are they are. Even if they aren’t people you speak to every day or even every year, many of the people you meet in college will remain a part of your life for the rest of your life as colleagues in the field, references for getting a job, people who inspire you, some will have your back professionally and/or personally, and others will be there when you least expect it.
#5. A short list for the refrigerator: Give up perfectionism, and now. A good night’s sleep is almost always better than pulling an all-nighter. Eat, sleep and play are under-rated in college. Nature and exercise go hand in hand at College of the Redwoods. Never assume, and never say never. Have fun. When you get overwhelmed stop to remember why you are here.
There are so many things you do not want to miss out on as a student at CR. I am grateful that I got involved with the Spanish Club on campus where I made friends that I still have today. One of my best friends is now a teacher in Philadelphia who transferred to Cal State Berkeley the same time I transferred to SFSU, where I completed my undergrad. We explored the Mission District of San Francisco together, and eventually ended living together in Santiago, Chile for a few months because we both chose to study abroad. He was President of Spanish Club at CR and I was Vice President.
The College of the Redwoods campus is on such a beautiful piece of property surrounded by Redwoods and other evergreens, and even a small lake with its own mythical Loch Ness monster. See if you can spot him one day! In your free time sit with the Redwoods on campus. There are also many nearby trails and incredibly beautiful state parks you can reach by public transportation or car that border the beautiful ocean. Exploring the beauty of the area is a must. Location, location, location is one thing this college has that others may not.
Holly A. Sisson, MA – College of the Redwoods Alumna 2007, AA