_Emmett Ferguson is a freshman journalism major at MU. He is an opinion columnist who writes about student life for The Maneater._
Everyone is going to fall behind at some point in college. Let’s face it — no one will always be on top of everything. To quote the wise words of Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, “Nobody’s perfect, I’ve gotta work it, again and again till I get it right.” If even she has to work it, odds are we have to as well.
The real question is, how do we end up in these situations, and more importantly, how do we get out of them? Drowning in homework, midterms and outside commitments, you might find yourself seemingly past the point of no return and wondering if you should just drop out and sell your plasma to that sketchy building downtown for a living. It may seem daunting, but getting ahead is doable, though it may require a brief hiatus from Greektown and late-night Netflix binging.
The first thing you’re going to need to do is admit that you can’t run off of four hours of sleep and four cups of coffee. It’s just not right. So one night, just bite the bullet and treat yourself to a full eight or 10 hours. You’re going to appreciate it the next day, when you feel more awake and save 10 bucks by skipping your venti triple-shot latte.
Next thing you need to do is go to class. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 20-minute walk or if you’re going to be 10 minutes late — it is always better to go. This lets you catch up on what you may have missed in classes you skipped and helps you learn what you’ll need to do in the future. Plus, you get to avoid that guilty, gnawing feeling you have when you’re still sitting in your underwear on your bed 20 minutes after your class has started.
When it comes to getting work done that you’re behind on, you just have to buckle down. Go to Rollins, grab some t-ravs and get to it. Most of the time, school work doesn’t require too much hard thought. Even if you’re writing a paper, it still is just going through the motions: research, write, research, write, nap, oversleep, write frantically (maybe skip the last two steps in that process). Admit it, you never really have to think too hard to get a good grade. It’s mostly about just committing and getting it done.
Everyone gets swamped with work every now and again, but what I’ve noticed is that people always get out of it. I’ve heard at least a dozen people say how they are so behind and are going to drop out to either become a stripper, be homeless or go into the wild and be feral. However, everyone who said those things is still here and didn’t fail. Getting behind is just a part of college, and overall, being in college will get you ahead.
