“It’s about time I finally stopped putting off beating this level. I’m really glad I got my priorities straight,” said Watson.
Photo by: Jessica Ma
When asked how she felt about starting college, first-year student Jennifer Watson said that she, like many other college freshmen, was just eager to start with a clean slate and reinvent herself, specifically with regards to her time management.
“I know this sounds extremely cliche, but I’m happy that college will let me
correct all of my flaws from high school,” said Watson. “I’ll admit it, I was the worst procrastinator ever in high school. The absolute worst. But those days are over. I’ve already bought all of my books and supplies, in addition to mapping out the whole quarter, week by week. Classes, tests, homework, sleep, even using the bathroom.”
Mindy Jiang, one of Watson’s roommates, admitted that while she fully supports Jennifer’s efforts, she cannot help but feel as though they are futile.
“When we were talking about our backgrounds, she brought up that in high school she frequently forgot deadlines. Apparently she started her UC application on the 30th, somehow oblivious to everyone else panicking to submit them. How does that even happen?” Jiang sighed, shaking her head. “In all honesty, I have a bet with our other roommate Natasha that Jenn’s micromanaging goes out the window before Week 0 ends.”
“I know I’ve had some problems in the past,” Watson admitted. She added that she had sent countless emails to teachers at midnight because she couldn’t submit her essays on Turnitin and could count the number of times she’d done homework before the day it was due on one hand.
“It’s really tough, you know?” Watson bemoaned. “After slogging through hours of classes I just want to come home and check my Instagram feed, binge-watch Netflix, try out a new hairstyle, and play with my puppy. He’s a German shepherd, so he won’t be small for much longer and I want to cherish our time together.
“Besides,” she added seriously. “I think my HA might be into me.”
Watson reported that in high school she followed a “due today, do today”
philosophy. “I tried to prioritize, but pretty much all of the time homework got shoved to the back burner. But I’ve decided that it’s time for that to end,” she firmly stated. “It’s college! You know, where you’re supposed to be able to start with a blank slate and completely change your personality. That’s exactly what I plan to do. Well, maybe I won’t give up my stuffed animal collection, but other than that, completely wiped clean!”
When asked about how confident she felt about her ability to follow through with her quarter plans, Watson said she was “100 percent committed.” She explained how she had already spent a good portion of her summer devising methods to help her fight her high school habits.
“I’ve got Mindy and Natasha helping me, and they said they’ll help me out as I completely invert my former lifestyle. They say old habits die hard, but I’m going to create a new catchphrase. Something along the lines of, ‘regardless of your work ethic in high school, there’s a large chance you can change that for college.’ It needs refining, but that can wait.”
“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Jiang lamented. “She doesn’t even realize when she’s slipping back into her old habits. Besides, I’m not her mother. I don’t think she heard the exasperation in my voice when I agreed to help her. If she’s not up to it, that’s her problem. And then Natasha will owe me $20.”
