Stranger to the Bottle

I'll admit it: I'm not much of a risk-taker. I don't smoke or take drugs. Much to the dismay of many of my teenage friends, I don't usually drive over the speed limit and try to obey traffic laws. My shyness, and I'd like to think my morals, keep me from being much of a partier. I don't drink, and I don't plan to until I'm of legal age. I would think that not being reckless would be considered a good thing; apparently, however, not participating in these dangerous behaviors puts me into the old-before-her-time, must-just-stay-home-and-knit-on-the-weekends category. When did being a "good kid" become being a loser? Why must being respectful of your body and mind mean that you are boring and voluntarily missing out on life?
The clincher for most people, that which definitively puts me in the misfit category, is the fact that I don't drink. I shocked countless people in high school by actually admitting this "outrageous" fact. "Seriously? You don't even drink?" they'd ask me, eyes wide with shock. Then they would start lecturing on how they knew smoking and drugs were dangerous, but everybody drinks. I was inevitably subjected to countless stories of how much fun it was to drink, how alcohol made you more fun to be around, and even how excessive drinking made you more popular. These stories I ignored, because I had heard the ones less often told, of waking up next to a person you did not know, of having no memory whatsoever of the evening spent drinking, and worst of all, of injuring or insulting loved ones while under the influence. So for me, the choice is clear. I will not drink until I am of legal age, and even then I will not abuse alcohol like so many of my peers do. I will continue to be a social outcast to these short-sighted peers, but I will be a stronger person physically and mentally for my trouble.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is a Cranky Professor and a Red Pen

Fear, needless to say, is a very powerful emotion. Fear has the ability to rob us of our reason, our peace of mind, and even our sanity should it steal too close. I would think that nearly every human being of a certain age, (say, old enough to go to the dentist), has experienced this potent emotion at one point or another, and I would venture to guess that the feeling was not overly pleasant.
I myself am no stranger to fear, especially now as I begin a new chapter of my life in an unfamiliar environment, far away from those closest to me. With the school year just beginning, my fears have become academic in nature; I'm scared of everything from having an insanely large workload to writing-gulp-papers. Writing for fun or to get something off your chest that would be rude to say aloud is all well and good, but writing that is graded just plain freaks me out.
For me, writing requires some sort of emotional connection, some sort of interest or passion in the subject that will allow me to translate my emotion to paper. If that connection is absent, or clouded by anxiety, the paper will reflect it. And although I wish every single paper would entail researching some phenomenally interesting subject, most often they will not. Since I cannot always write about what interests me, I must find another incentive for writing papers on subjects I find a bit more dull, and must conquer my fear of my paper being so covered in red ink that it should be saying, "Et tu, Brute?". At some point in our lives, just as we inevitably experience fear, we must also deal with things we dislike. I think in conquering our fears, and learning to adequately deal with things we dislike, we grow. It's a painful growth, and one we may not always appreciate immediately, but one we may come to be grateful for in later years. After all, isn't painful, caffeine-fueled growth what college is all about?

Class that repels note-taking

I am extremely fortunate to have great classes my freshman year in college; none of the professors take delight in seeing students struggle, and all of my classes are fairly interesting and challenging. My fellow students are polite and friendly, and many have the same interests that I have. If I need extra help or simply need clarification, many professors will be willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help me with my individual needs.
One of my favorite classes this year is Ideas and Cultures. The professor is friendly and engaging, and, unlike most literature assigned at school, the material is actual interesting and typically fun to read. Unfortunately, this class has one major problem: it is nearly impossible to take good notes in this class. The professor will write one or two words on the board and quickly move on to another topic. Sometimes it is difficult to listen and get the gist of what should be written down at the same time. As good notes are essential to successfully taking courses, this problem could easily become a hinderance to my academic success.
Luckily for me, my Converse 101 class has just finished teaching us how to take notes even when the lecture is difficult to translate onto paper. I will simply have to try and grasp the "big picture" and selectively take notes instead of trying to write down everything that is said in the lecture. I will have to be an active listener and participant in this class; I cannot be afraid to ask for clarification or repetition of something I did not catch. Staying focused and not succumbing to frustration at missing a single detail will also help me in my efforts to take good notes. I hope these techniques will help me become a better listener, note-taker, and student, especially in a class I enjoy so much.