The Pop Out

Sorry, just being honest. I like community college students more than the ones who go to four-year colleges straight from high school. But now, I think I know why.

You can't make it through life alone. What made you think you can make it through your educational journey alone? Though it is perfectly common for people to avoid uncomfortable conversations and to leave themselves vulnerable to critique, these encounters with others are necessary for us to become a better version of ourselves. But who should we turn to, and how should we lean on them?

Be honest with yourself. Don't act like you care if you aren't willing to put your money where your mouth is. It's offensive to people who put in real work.

You don't control as much as you think you do, but you also control more than you think you do. It's time to reflect on the limitations we set on ourselves, and instead take control to set limitations for ourselves, in your education and in your relationships.

It's not that big a deal. I promise.

Have you ever thought of how you think of yourself? Do you ever describe yourself as smart/dumb, good/bad, caring/mean? It's perfectly normal for people to give themselves narratives and fixed identities. Yet, it's simply not true. Moreover, viewing ourselves in this manner does nothing to help us become the kind of person that we would like to be, to develop skills and ideas and be motivated to change.

"Undocumented immigrants" is not some PC, woke ideology. It's just a more accurate term, at least more accurate than "illegal." Let me explain.

Art is NOT subjective. What you like is not the same as what is good. Period. Stop conflating the two.

What gives rise to your feelings? Is it specific situations? What about the situation? Knowing what and where your feelings are coming from will help you better learn to manage and address them in a healthy way, freeing you to learn without any barriers.

We are not creatures born with an understanding of our feelings. We need to be taught what we are feeling by learning to name our feelings. So it's not surprise that when we are not taught and practice how to name our own feelings, we have a hard time accurately identifying and managing those feelings. The result is that those feelings are left unresolved and continue to impact our lives, including our learning lives.

There's much more to be said on how we can better identify our own feelings, but here's a good place to start: The Basics.

https://www.unh.edu/pacs/recognizing-emotions

Let's start practicing curiosity about our own feelings, so that we can start to learn freely.