I believe in procrastination

"What are you doing?" If I were to give the typical instant messenger reply "nothing" I would be lying. I am always doing something. I am alway in the process of procrastinating.

No student on the planet can whole-heartedly say he/she has never procrastinated. Some of us including myself are all but too familiar with this concept. There are different levels of procrastination. There’s the one where you put something off because you know you have plenty of time before its due date. There is also the one where you struggle to finish a 350- 500 word paper an hour before it is due. And then there’s the one where you stay up all night doing schoolwork you should have completed early, yeah, that is the one that I have.

Opponents of procrastination will argue it is bad for a number of reasons; it stresses you, the work you do is not optimal, it is an indication of laziness, and the list goes on. Though procrastination can result in negative consequences, not all procrastination is evil. I believe in healthy and well-thought out procrastination.

Procrastination, when done right, can bring about a number of benefits. Cramming right before and exam keeps the information fresh in your memory. I can study for a whole semester and forget everything from the beginning of the semester. If I allow myself sufficient time before an exam, I usually do better with the materials fresh in my mind. Procrastination also allows me time to do things I normally would not prefer to do, like chores. I can put off doing laundry for days, but if I am faced with a writing assignment, all of sudden, I need clean underwear and socks. More importantly, procrastination guarantees me time. If I live my life based on a check-list, can I ever be sure that I will finish it all and have time to relax? Procrastination is a way of insuring me some time to enjoy and relax.

I believe in putting things off until it is due, but i procrastinate responsibly. This very philosophy has helped me through high school work and now college work. Life’s too short to busy all the time. Make time for yourself, procrastinate. Mark Twain once said, “Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

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Open Wide

The one advice that people give if you say you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life: Pick a career you absolutely love. In an ever-demanding, materialistic world, I better pick a career that makes decent money too. In order to have both, I work hard in school with hopes of going to dental school. Ever since the middle school and endless science and art projects, I have come to the realization that I love working with my hands. Among my list of hobbies include knitting, sewing, crocheting, and building miniatures. In addition, though I may appear quiet and shy, I greatly enjoy personal relationships with others. I find people fascinating. I also find satisfaction in being able to help others. I currently teach a second grade Sunday school class and am a resident assistant on campus.  After an internship my senior of high school, I decided that being a dentist would allow me to combine my dexterity and my desire to help others.

My family and I emigrate from Vietnam onto American soil in the early ‘90s so that my siblings and I can live the American dream. So far, I think I am on track. The American dream places great emphasis on education; I graduated with high marks in high school and sit a classroom everyday at an honors university.  Despite my social class, the idea that, with hard work, you can achieve any status gives me hope to aspire to be who ever I want to be.  Also in accordance with the “American dream,” if I work hard, I will be awarded with great fortunate. Though I don’t ask for the multimillion dollar house or the expensive cars, I do hope to live comfortably.  

From Special to Gifted and Talented

For the most part, I have enjoyed most of my educational experiences in school. Of the many, I would say the end of my first quarter in middle school stands to be one of my most memorable experiences. As an elementary school student, I was always placed in the lowest of the English classes, math classes, spelling classes, whatever other classes you can thing of. Miraculously, when I entered middle school and after having taken a number of exams, I finally found myself in classes with students I was segregated from in elementary school, the “Gifted and Talented” ones. The material was a little more difficult but at the end of my first quarter in those “GT” classes, I found myself with straight A’s. It was the first time in my life that I had seen so many A’s.

Unfortunately, my worse educational experience was one of my first experiences at UMBC. It was the end of August and I had not gone to orientation or registered for classes. Finally, the day before school starts, I went to orientation. Afterwards, I was assigned to an advisor to help me with my schedule. The advisor that was supposedly advising me was chatting on her AIM. Often, the computer would freeze. She had the nerve to call someone over and ask what the problem was, all for him to point out that it was because she had five instant message conversations up and running. Embarrassed, she then proceeded to rush me so she could leave. In the end, she managed to put me in a history four hundred level class. On the first day of class, I found myself among sixteen other students who were mainly history majors or graduate students. I managed to survive with a B.