Need ANY help/suggestions on academic motivation

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I won't waste too much of your time hopefully. Here's my situation:
I'm 20 years old, live in Southern California. Graduated in 2010 from a great high school. All my friends got into their privates or universities while as I didn't put as much effort into school (at one point had a .67 GPA) and decided to go to a good transfer rate community college with TAG programs (Irvine Valley College). My first two years are as followed:</p>

<p>Fall Semester 2010
ANTH 1 Intro to Phys Anthro 3.00 W<br>
ART 20 Art Appreciation 3.00 F<br>
COUN 1 Academic Planning 1.50 B<br>
PSYC 1 Intro to Psychology 3.00 F<br>
PSYC 37 Abnormal Behavior 3.00 F </p>

<p>Semester Total<br>
Units Enrolled: 13.50
Units Complete: 1.50 </p>

<p>Spring Semester 2011
JA 1 Beg Japan I 5.00 F<br>
MATH 353 Elementary Algebra 5.00 F<br>
SOC 1 Intro to Sociology 3.00 F<br>
WR 201 Intro/College Writng 3.00 W<br>
WR 280 Writing Conference 0.50 W </p>

<p>Semester Total
Units Enrolled: 16.50
Units Complete: 0.00</p>

<p>Fall Semester 2011
PSYC 1 Intro to Psychology 3.00 B<br>
SOC 1 Intro to Sociology 3.00 D </p>

<p>Semester Total
Units Enrolled: 6.00
Units Complete: 6.00 </p>

<p>Spring Semester 2012
MATH 353 Elementary Algebra 5.00 F<br>
PSYC 37 Abnormal Behavior 3.00 D<br>
WR 201 Intro/College Writng 3.00 F<br>
WR 280 Writing Conference 0.50 NP </p>

<p>Semester Total
Units Enrolled: 11.50
Units Complete: 3.00</p>

<p>Cumulative Total:
Units Enrolled: 47.50
Units Complete: 10.50</p>

<p>Please, someone, help me. I'm on the brink of crying as i'm writing this. My mom as a single parent did so much so I could go to a good high school and live in a good area. I don't have any reason to complain about my life. Why can't I find the motivation to do well in school? In all seriousness, I can't keep failing, I won't let myself. I'm not a failure, I know I can do better, but what's stoping me. I'm starting to consider suicidal thoughts just knowing i'll be behind all my friends in a matter of years. I can't let that happen to me. My brother is one year younger than me, and he's trying so hard to motivate me, telling me every night "have you done your work?; you better do all your ****ing work; stop being a failure do your work" and I constantly lie to him night after night. He'll be going to UCSD for sure in Fall '13 if not UCLA. We both aspire to be Bruins. We have so many friends there. What's stopping me from achieving what he is? We're all human and in that sense I shouldn't put barriers on myself; I can achieve anything anyone ever has if not even better. I'm not a failure, I know I can do this, I just need help right now. Thanks for reading.</p>

2

<p>No one can help you here except with some basic advice. You need a therapist.</p>

3

<p>Bleh, can you provide me with YOUR advice? I.e, reatake your failed courses, take x class, start off with x amount of classes, join a club, etc</p>

4

<p>Ironically, your bad start can actually help you get into UCB and UCLA, if you get a 4.0 from now on. You can write about your troubles and how you overcame it.
That’s my advice, and it’s very much true.</p>

5

<p>Watch this video and listen to the message very closely. Then go out and apply it. </p>

<p>[How</a> Bad Do You Want It? (Success) HD - YouTube](<a href=“How Bad Do You Want It? (Success) HD - YouTube”>How Bad Do You Want It? (Success) HD - YouTube)</p>

<p>Retake those F’s. I know what it’s like to be in your situation. I started my academic career with plenty of D’s and F’s, repeated the courses, TAG’ed with UCSB, and I’d say I have a pretty good shot at being accepted by the UCs for Fall '13. Use my example as some motivation. </p>

<p>If you want this bad enough, you’ll get it.</p>

6

<p>I’ll give you some advice.</p>

<p>Stop being lazy. Admit that you have a problem, that’s the only way to overcome any obstacle. Sit down for however long it takes until you finally realize that you won’t go very far in life continuing to fail and having this lazy attitude. Once this realization finally occurs, it’ll hit you like a truck and you might start crying. </p>

<p>If you can’t find the motivation to do it for yourself; do it for my mother, do it for your brother, do it for a stranger. Just do it.</p>

<p>Your life isn’t over, you have a long way to go. These young years can either make you stronger or completely destroy the rest of your life. Don’t like laziness destroy your life.</p>

<p>After you finally realize that you’re not a failure, because I know you aren’t. Here’s what you do. Retake your classes that you failed and got W’s in. Actually attend class and pay attention. College is about learning, it’s time you actually took something away from these classes. Take notes, sit in the front, and do the assignments given to you. Whenever you feel lazy just ask yourself, am I going to happy with myself tomorrow, a week from now, a year from now? The answer will be no, you won’t be happy with yourself so do your work.</p>

<p>Get good grades and become active on your college campus. When it comes time to apply to schools use your experiences as an assest and not a hinderance. You’ve obviously learned some things from your mistakes; own them, but don’t let your failures define you.</p>

<p>Trust me, I was you 3 years ago. I struggled a lot in my life, but I pulled through. I know you will too. So get up, make an effort, and stop being lazy. </p>

<p>You got this.
You can PM if you need someone to talk to, or someone to give you some more advice. Good luck man!</p>

7

<p>Oh man, you are the epitome of me during my first few semesters. Granted, I didn’t do as bad as you because I quit before I got to that point. I had a lot of F’s and W’s on transcript and I pretty much didn’t care at all. I quit for a full year and decided to play video games because that was a lot more fun. Boy was that the worst decision ever. My younger brother got a accepted to San Diego State during that year from HS; my cousin transferred out of my cc to a Uni; my other cousin got accepted to MIT; and a ton of other family members graduated college/got accepted. And what the **** was I doing? Sitting at home playing *<strong><em>ty ass video games. I decided enough was enough and I went back to school with a vengeance. I retook all my F’s and tried my hardest to get those A’s. All I need is one more semester and I’ll be on my way to UCSC as a 23 year old. It’s never too late to go back to school. You’re only 20 years old hahah. I went back and got my *</em></strong> together when I was 21 and a half. You can still turn your life around. You just have to try!! In a few years everyone will have a bachelor’s, making money, and you are still going to be at a CC if you don’t get your **** together now. Your brother is trying to motivate you? Listen to him. </p>

<p>I also know how you feel with that Elementary Algebra class. You hate math, I get it. I failed math my whole. I got F’s in math in middle school and in high school. The only reason I graduated was because a D back then was a passing grade; It’s not anymore. I failed Elementary Algebra the first time I took, and I got a W the second time. After I gained some motivation, I went back and took it again during the summer and I was the only one that got an A in that class(I’m not even joking right now); that motivation helped me pull that off. Also, I’m currently taking Int Algebra and I have a 98% in that class. It’s not impossible. You can still turn your life around. I’m hoping my 2 little stories will motivate you a little bit. If I can to do, so can you.</p>

8

<p>OP: Have you decided on a major yet? Maybe your apathy stems from not knowing what the **** to do with your life; that was certainly my situation at your age. Realize that if you don’t get your **** together and start taking school seriously, you will most likely end up working a menial job with no hope for future growth… not a very promising scenario. </p>

<p>Calm down, relax, and be honest with yourself. What kind of job would you like to have? That’s essentially what college is for. Don’t listen to the ■■■■■■■ who go on about college opening you up to life experiences and blahblahblah, so pursuing art history is just as viable as an engineering degree. Toss that nonsense out the door. This is your time to get the training you need to provide for yourself and your family, so figure out what would be the best field for you with a decent future outlook, and stop jerking around. </p>

<p>Whenever you start feeling lazy and apathetic about schoolwork, imagine yourself in a Walmart polo shirt stocking shelves. That should give you some motivation.</p>

9

<p>Take a philosophy class on existentialism, Sartre is one of those philosophers I always have in the back of my mind.</p>

10

<p>Do you have a subject you are passionate about yet? I would recommend next semester registering for only two classes that you are really interested in, and are scheduled back to back on the same two days/week. That’s what I did my first “serious” semester. Preferably later in the day. It seems like you are interested in psych, so I would recommend taking only two psych classes (or maybe abnormal psych and intro to soc) that are back to back. Then, make it a habit to spend the next 2-3 hours in the library. It’s only two days a week, with a total of 3 hours/day in a classroom, so it’s not that much of a commitment. Try to get Bs in those classes and if you are successful take more the next semester.</p>

11

<p>Great advice in this thread, also to touch on what wanago2college said, if you bust your ass from here on and get straight A’s, it can work in your favor. Colleges love strong upward trends because it shows you turned it around, overcame whatever your circumstances were, and you will likely carry that momentum over to their college. That being said, you will not beat out any straight A applicants (4.0s) or 3.7s. But it will help you somewhat. You may have heard this before, it’s not about how you start but how you finish. But ideally, straight A’s or A’s and B’s mixed (4.0s 3.6s etc.) is desired. You’ll likely not have a 3.6 unless you take AR in all those classes and get straight A’s.</p>

12

<p>Discosteve
Thanks dude. I appreciate what you said and I will definitely take up that offer if needed. I think the problem is not realizing I have a problem, but ill have sudden strides of hard work and then be okay with myself missing a couple classes and have it justified by saying I worked hard for a month. The sooner I drop that habit the better. Even saying that though isn’t enough. I wish i could find that flaw in myself and detach it.</p>

13

<p>Mermaker
Video games are the main cause and drive behind me missing class sometimes. It sucks I’m such a good liar too, sometimes ill wake up to go to school and quickly come up with an excuse to miss class to anyone asking in my just woken state and regret missing class so ****ing much when I actually wake up. I’ve un installed games so many times and end up reinstalling them several weeks later to “reward” myself for not playing so long. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

14

<p>It took me ~ 3 years of CC to figure out what it was that I wanted to do or was actually interested in. Once you’re ready, Academic Renewal ought to get you back on your feet fairly quickly.</p>

<p>Try taking some online classes so as to facilitate the habit of getting all of your work done independently of having to attend class regularly – don’t try to tackle too much at once.</p>

15

<p>Art2cs
Yeah. I’ve always been interested in how brain activity works. How the biogical process and works result in us doing what we want to do. Nuerobiology I guess. Psychology was always cool too but I dunno. I didn’t agree with most of the psychologists we learned about and never really agreed with any perspectives from the field. I always found myself thinking of everything differently from others, but I’m probably getting full of myself and falling into those “im unique” type of people, hahaha. But man, I suck at math, and there’s so much math I have to do if i want to successfully major in this. If i want it bad enough, I can do though. Anyways, my brother is a physics major and he’s tried tutoring me before but I never took it seriously so we stopped. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

16

<p>Job wise… Oh man. That’s the million dollar question. What do I want to do with my life? I want to do a lot of things. I want to study the brain, and have a medical degree. I want to be a hip-hop MC. I want to direct movies and be an actor. I want to write books. Out of everything though, and if you’ve read all the replies you’ll find this hard to believe, I want to be a stand up comedian. I love making people laugh! I love meeting people and seeing how they act and talk and behave and telling them something funny and seeing them laugh. It makes my day making a stranger laugh or smile. But i want all of this. Haha. So I don’t know. College wise, i’ll definitely be studying either film making, screen writing, or a nuerobio major. Thanks though everyone for all the replies or/and any more to come. Ive had people look at my situation without knowing me and seriously ask if I have a learning disability. Heh. I just need to get my **** together. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

17

<p>Take steps. Stop lying to your little brother who is only caring for you. You need to value your classes more than games. 5 years from now, you could be in two different places depending on which you value more. </p>

<p>You can get through this bro, never give in; never give up.</p>