Ending a Beginning

“If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning. If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need. If you're going to question something, question authority. If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions. If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence. And if you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.” - Daniel Golston

As your instructor, I feel obligated to say something eloquent, wise, or powerful to finish a semester that has been filled with risks and hopefully rewards in terms of lessons applicable to our lives in college and beyond. Ultimately, I hope that this course has convinced all of us of the importance and urgency of raising our voices.

Effective communication is critical to succeeding in the personal and professional roles that we will occupy in our lives. As we have seen this semester, language has the power to transform us and our world whether for better or worse. It is less important to me that you can follow MLA protocol for formatting documents and more important that you are able to articulate your ideas in such a way that demonstrates critical thought driven by passion and informed by research. This ability is important because it is practical as we have heard from the experiences of our speakers. We will each be called upon to speak out and rally others around our ideas if we want to make a difference—which we can and will do.

I have been so impressed by your ability to tackle the writing projects in the course as well as by your willingness to listen and to share in our conversations in class. We have seen how writing—the best writing—results from a process that links passions to ideas to questions to research to arguments to action. It is a process that involves risk and makes us vulnerable because we know that we will be judged and because there is a quality of permanency in words. Therefore, we must have courage. With courage comes a willingness to embrace and inspire change.

As we move through our lives, I hope that we will all find some usefulness in a lesson or two from the course. Perhaps, that lesson came from a speaker. Maybe, the lesson was learned in a blog post. An encouraging word or conversation with classmates could even house the lesson. From you, I have learned that humans are resilient. This resiliency is bolstered when we have someone else who believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. I have also recognized that there is hope for our world because you are in it. Humor accompanies hope, and it is quite alright to laugh a little (or a lot), too. In addition, I have recognized that it is important to use my language to elevate others, not to keep them oppressed. Furthermore, I have come to understand just how remarkably creative humans are. Finally, I know that the baggage that we carry and the obstacles that we create for ourselves cannot and should not keep us from acknowledging the beauty we possess as human beings.

It is my hope that you will take advantage of the freedom and responsibility to raise your voices according to the integrity of your spirit. Furthermore, I hope that you will always choose to live life on your own terms. Please know how grateful I am to have walked with you briefly on your journey’s path. You are smart. You are talented. You matter to me and to the world. Feel free to keep in touch and to reach out to me if I can ever be of assistance.

With tremendous love and respect,

Your student and teacher,

Jessica

The Voice

I learned to re-love language and reconnect with my voice when I read Silverstein in the seventh grade:

The Voice

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
"I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What's right for you--just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.”
― Shel Silverstein

Stressing and Still Optimistic

Stress

1. –Noun. Physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension

2. –Noun. The experience of a college student.

College students report more stress now than they have in the last quarter century. This finding is included in the 2010 Freshman Norms study of college students published by the University of California in Los Angeles. The scope of this study includes more than 200,000 freshmen from 279 four-year colleges and universities.

Explanations of the causes of the increasing stress levels are less than clear. Certainly, adaptation to collegiate life is stressful. Students making the transition to college direct from high school must navigate the demands of a new institution—some are more than prepared and others are under-prepared. In addition, universities like The University of Memphis are home to a significant population of students who have been away from the classroom and are re-adjusting to the academy while at the same time bringing a wealth of life experiences to the learning spaces. Regardless of the educational backgrounds of the students, with the transition to the university come changes in expectations and workloads in the classroom. Yet, this reality has not changed.

What has changed? Some hypotheses noted by researchers connected to the report include the troubled economy or the inclusion of more students with mental illnesses on campuses because of expanded services through offices for students with disabilities. I would suggest that given the increasing necessity of a college degree for success in the workforce, more students are attending school. However, they are not necessarily leaving other commitments behind; more often than not, they cannot afford to do so. In fact, on a regular basis, I see how much more complex students’ lives are than mine was when I attended The University of Memphis a decade ago. Students must balance classroom life with real life as they work and care for their families.

Can you identify? What contributes to your stress? How do you manage your stress levels? Do we want it all, but cannot handle it all?

Despite this rather stressful news, students also report being more driven and confident in their abilities. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the students surveyed are satisfied with their experiences on college campuses and are optimistic that their degrees will result in higher incomes in the future.

Personally, I am optimistic about your futures though not because I envision all of you as millionaires. Instead, I am optimistic because you have incredible gifts to share. Still, I want you to have lives that are balanced. I am in no position to judge the other responsibilities that may keep you from performing at your optimal levels in this course or your other courses. However, I am in a position to set high and clear expectations, to support you, and to encourage you to make choices that keep your stress levels low and your optimism levels high.