Greetings and salutations!
In case you are not already aware, my name is Nicholas Diley. I am a fifth semester student attending the University of Advancing Technology dual majoring in Advancing Computer Science and Network Security. For just around a year and 8 months, I have been a resident of the Tempe-Phoenix area attending this school, of course going back home to Indiana, so for attending college that long, I like to think that I understand the area and how to survive the college life!
So I present to you all, the Diley College Survival Guide! Sponsored by me! Nicholas Diley.
In this 10 part series, I'll be telling you guys how I have been surviving college thus far, such as through money saving recipes for disaster, or going into simpler matters in regards to studying techniques, working with the opportunities available, and finally the steps I've taken to network, move further into my industry, and achieve the job opportunities I have.
So let's begin with lesson One!
---
Moving this far in the country to this new environment is tough. I'm not gonna lie. It's been a difficult process in not only coping with the fact that I am the only one of my immediate family out here, but also that I have to go to school and plan everything out by myself. There isn't anyone who can define my schedule too much to start out with, so it led onto some pretty bad habits on my own accord in how I managed for time management.
For my first semester here at UAT, I had class 2 days a week, and they were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Given my schedule from those days started as early as 9:30 and ended around 5:30 or so, it was still a process to get used to the whole college schedule, and adapt accordingly. I had Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and my whole weekend off, so I would end up going to bed around 6 AM and wake up around 2 PM each day. To this day, I look back and shudder in how I managed to pull that off!
One major thing that all college students need to know is how to sort out their schedules and plan for their days. For me, it was as simple as making sure I was at least in bed trying to sleep around midnight each night, which I continue to do today, but also planning out things in when to eat, when to do homework, and so on.
To start out with, it is definitely worth doing your homework on the weekends, as they tend to be the times where we don't have any other classes to do, but as you go along, make sure to maybe set aside an hour of your day each week following to work on your larger scale projects so that you do not fall behind.
Set aside a nice frame for you to eat a filling lunch, whether it be from the cafe or from a store. There is no shame in going to a fast food joint in order to get food, because it's on a short notice usually, and in times of time constraint, a quick burger or sandwich definitely helps. For those of you who wish to eat a little healthier though, there is the frys grocery deli that serves a lot of good options too for a nice value as well!
If you all buy groceries over the weekend, you could create some food in advance to save on time further as you would just need to pick up a fork and the container of food that you had prepared previously, and just go at it! Otherwise there is the cafe on campus should you need it in particular.
Finally, I know there is a time for video games, but the ability to sleep on a regular basis, eat on a regular basis, and do homework in a timely manner, outweigh the time for being able to play games. I am probably not the best to write about this, but the games will still be there, or at least portion it out so that you are not too preoccupied with the game to put it down to work on homework. And I'm not talking about little 30 minute intervals, but if you are wanting some relief, maybe spend 2-4 hours playing, just so you can get it out of your system and you can move forward in whatever game you do. Just promise yourself and muster the motivation to pick up your pencil/pen/tablet/computer and work on it all where necessary.
If you need time saving techniques, just look at what you spend far too much time doing, or things you are unsure of, because with proper planning, you can very well have so much more time throughout your day, and that can be spent playing games or outside with friends!
---
That concludes part one, and I'll be posting the other parts daily!
Lesson two will most likely be about things you can do around campus to keep yourself busy, so stay tuned for more!
Until next time,
-Nicholas "TAE"
