Strength to conquer

Welcome to P-Anon. My name is Danielle and I am a recovering procrastinator. I lived my life by getting in under the deadline. What did that get me? Less than flattering grades. Could you expect any more from someone who would type up a 10 page paper the night before it was due, and then hand in only the first draft? It’s embarrassing to admit it, especially when I know I am worth so much more than a 2.0 (give or take). I recently stumbled upon a great time management website that helped me out so much. It gave me ideas, it has pre-made agendas for me to print and use, and it even has videos! Being a typical Granite State College student balancing work, school, home life, and a child; it really helps to take a minute to step back and learn how to manage my time better. My grades are better now, my time with my son is more enjoyable, and I am getting so much done at work! It’s really amazing what a little extra effort on your part can do! I highly recommend checking out this link and seeing what managing your time better can do for you. Here is the link to check out- http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/time.html.

And I hope to not have to see you again at P-Anon! J

I just signed up for a class this Spring term to help me move closer in obtaining my undergraduate degree in psychology from Granite State College. I enrolled in ENG 508: Media and Its Messages. I was so pumped when I got the syllabus because of the type of learning I was about to delve into. This is not one of your old school monotone instructors who ask you to read 100 pages and write a response every week. No! This is another course where I get to be in control of my learning, to put things that are happening in everyday life and turn them into great learning experiences!  As a mother of a two year old I do not get to watch much TV, let alone find out what is going on in the world around me. If it doesn’t come from Elmo or Barney, then I don’t have a clue! I think most working mothers can relate to me here! Between running around doing errands, cooking for my family, and changing diapers, I admit (ashamedly so) that I do not pay attention to current events in the news. I don’t even know what the weather is going to be like until I step outside! I know it sounds awful, but it’s the life most of us busy mothers live. In this class I am not only using modern media decipher what is happening around me in a “buyer beware” sort of attitude. But I am also teaching myself to slow down and really take a look at what is going on around me in the world. Many of these things that are happening on the news are going to greatly affect my life, like current politics. I think this class is going to help me in more ways that just academics. I am going to become a more well-rounded and well-read person because I will not only know how to look and decipher what is being tossed my way in the media and news outlets, but I will also know how to take the time to give myself that opportunity. I think that is definitely something a book and tests cannot teach you.

There are some really cool things that Granite State College provides there students with to help them succeed. One huge helper is my WebROCK portal. I log into that and I have access to so much more! I can change my name and adress if I move or get married, I can check my grades, and my financial aid. This year I even get to take control over my financial aid package through WebROCK. The coolest thing for me to be able to do in WebROCK is too keep tabs on my degree! I can see what courses I have taken, what courses need to be taken and all of my course options all laid out in front of me!  I don't have to call and ask someone else what they think I should do. After all, this is my degree! If I am smart enough to get through the classes then I think I am smart enough to choose them. Besides, I have a specific mind of where I want to go. I want to be a child psychologist someday, so for my electives I want to choose classes that would make sense for my studies. I know when I am through with my undergraduate psychology degree I am going to be 100% satisfied because I chose the classes I wanted based on what interested me. I have to say that my favorite feature on WebROCK is the "What if Analysis". Let's say I get bored with psychology and want a BS Health Care Management. All I have to do is click a few buttons and the screen will show me what courses would transfer into the new degree program and what courses I would have left to take! Is that not the coolest thing ever? No more wasting money bouncing from program to prgram. I can try it out for free to see if it "fits"!

I recently had the audacity to make claim that Granite State College was my baby, and that I would never do anything to hurt it. But in all honesty, Granite State College gave birth to me. To the strong, independent, and intelligent person I have become. Before attending to get my undergraduate degree in psychology I was very timid. I was shy and did not voice my opinions much because I had no confidence in myself and my abilities. I never thought in a million years I would be able to jungle the life that I have now: full time worker, full time student, and full time mother. Granite State College ignited the spark inside me that was always there, waiting for it to be proven worthy. The feelings I went through I can only describe as when someone is so exhausted and freezing cold water is splashed on their face. The excitement you get when you are confident enough to voice your opinions and know that you are worthy. To stand up and declare for all that it is my time! The best thing about it is that no one ever held my hand. I did not take baby steps throughout my journey here. I was able to take control of my own college career. I chose the classes that interested me and fit my degree of my choosing. I chose whether I took them online or face to face. Not only can I say “I did it!” when I hold my degree in my hand, but I can also say proudly, “I made it happen!”. This has to be the best college for a psychology major, and all other majors because you are in control of your destiny- you are given the power to make it happen!

In order to get one step closer to my undergraduate psychology degree I recently took the Intro to Ethics course online, and man, what an excellent course! I originally took it because I am a very passionate and opinionated person and thought I would do well in the course. Little did I know I was going to walk away from the class with an even broader span of understanding of humanity.  The things I learned throughout the course were not only interesting, but relatable to real life events. To see politics in a different light and to see why other people think the way they do. The instructor was super nice and very effective at teaching. He really took a different approach, and that is what I love most about Granite State College. They do not hire instructors who “preach” to you. That say read chapters so and so and take a test. They really get you to think, to associate your life with the materials. You become more of an educated person intellect and character becomes more three dimensional. I think the most eye opening resource you can look at is the Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema Tribe” here- http://www.ohio.edu/people/thompsoc/Body.html. While you read the story, keep in the forethought of your mind all of the judgment’s you may be passing on this tribe’s people and their rituals. If you find this interesting, then you should really check out the intro to ethics course! And this course is not just limited to fullfilling requirements for just the Bachelor of Science in Psychology, but also in many other degree programs here as well, both online and in class! Take a look at the most recent course offerings and I promise you, you will not be disappointed!!

I never EVER liked school. EVER. Period.

I hated that these grownups would stand in front of me and tell me to memorize this information, and if I spelled a word wrong I had to write it out ten times.  How is this learning? It wasn’t. It was memorization at its finest, just using enough of my brain power to remember the information to get me through the exams and then I was free to forget everything I “learned”.  Why should I have learned it anyway? It did not apply to me. How is it that any time in my adult life would I need to know what year Spain traveled to the new world and enslaved the natives? It had nothing to do with anything. It related to me in no way and it didn’t apply to anything else I was learning at the time, so why did I need to know this useless information?

I started really thinking about this recently because of the way I am actually learning now, in my online classes for college.

All of my adult college classes, no matter what the information, actually pertain to me! Can you believe that? In human bio right now, I am learning about my body. More than just how I breathe and my organs and such, but how everything comes together to help me survive day-to-day, mostly without me ever needing to think about it. When was the last time you actually had to think and make a conscious effort to make your heart beat or to breathe in and out? You don’t have to do those because some of your body’s muscles and organs are involuntary. Without that, we wouldn’t be able to sleep or carry on a conversation without thinking about doing everything our body already does for us.

There is also some other information I found fascinating. For example, sweating. Did you know that you can get injections in your face and body to eliminate sweating? Did you also know that sweating is not only your body’s way of cooling you down, but also a way to get toxins out of your body? Could you imagine the nasty gross things that could build up in your body if there were no ways to release it? It’s absolutely fascinating all that I am learning in this class. It makes me want to take better care of myself, and to know how to do that.

I am truly lucky to be a part of Granite State College, a college where you don’t go to memorize things, but a place where you actually go to gain knowledge and become a better person!

I have been thinking about the value of a dollar recently. I remember when I was younger I thought I was rich when I had $100 to my name. I was king of the world and I could buy anything I wanted. Well those days are completely gone (I just got my first cable bill and it was $200!?).

I may not be able to make $100 go as far as I use to, but I am happy with the money I have been putting into my Bachelor’s of Science degree from Granite State College. After a lot of research, I learned that Granite State College offers the least expensive Bachelor’s degree in the entire state of New Hampshire!

That coupled with the small class sizes and more individualized attention that I receive from staff and instructors (staff at the campuses know most of their students names!!!), I am very happy with my choice to return to school to pursue my adult college degree.

Did you know that most of the Instructors here teach as a second job? That means that they actually LOVE to do what they do here. Why else would you take on another job? Instructors here actually take the time to know you as an individual, not just another student in their class. I remember taking a Psychology class at one of the local community colleges and I was one of 35 people in the class. The instructor did not know who I was and did not know I was even a part of his class when I raised my hand.

Here, at Granite State College, I am Danielle Dodd, a student, a worker and a mother. My instructors take the time to ask me about my day, about my son, and to make sure that I understand the work. They take the time out of their busy schedules so that if I am having an issue understanding something, they can meet with me at a time that is convenient for ME, not just offer a time that is convenient for them. Not only that, but the instructors here have full time jobs in their field of study. We have management instructors who are entrepreneurs, Early Childhood Education instructors who have child care centers. We have other instructors who are lawyers and have their doctorates! We are learning from people who not only have the book smarts, but have firsthand knowledge of how the field that we want to enter works! Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better adult college education.

It’s exactly like those credit card commercials that always play:

            School  books: $100.

            School  supplies: $40.

            The unique education and opportunities received: Priceless