Preparing for a New School Year – Part Three

Be sure you have already read Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing.

Alright overachievers, learners, and participators, listen up. (Slackers, at least pretend you are listening.) I am now going to break down the positive traits of each type.

Slackers (S)

Let’s start with the Slackers. Instead of continuing to make S’s the bad guys, I’m going to play devil’s advocate for now. What can we learn from Slackers? Here are some of their positive qualities:

* Stress-Free
* Prioritized.
* Content.

For other types, nothing is ever good enough. There is always a desire for a better grade, more thorough coverage of a subject in class, or more class discussion. For an S, contentment and acceptance abounds. They may seem to be off kilter, but they are actually polarized. They are completely prioritized – school just happens to not be a priority. Regardless of the results most slackers achieve, you have to give them credit for their ability to take things in stride.

Learners (L)

Learners exemplify the following:

* Unbridled curiosity.
* Open-Minded.
* Naturally well-liked by professors.

A learner can walk into 99% of classes and become immediately engaged. The human aspect of the classroom is generally of little import in a learner’s mind, so the subject matter itself is all that is needed. A lack of grade obsession permits the learner to learn for learning’s sake, and thus exudes more real interest. Because of this, professors are naturally more inclined to like learners and enjoy their company.

Participators (P)

Participators exude:

* Outstanding interpersonal skills.
* The ability to make an otherwise dull class enjoyable by inciting discussion.
* Innate humility. Participators are honest with themselves and realize that others can help them.

Think of every time somebody you didn’t know started speaking to you on the first day of class. Remember that warmth you felt emanating from that person? He or she was a participator. Participators have the ability to make students and even professors feel right at home. Participators are also not above asking for help or accepting advice and solutions from their peers. Remember the effeminate fellow who said, “GOSH, black holes are MEANIES!” in astronomy class and made you laugh for an hour and forget about a low quiz grade? Participator.

Overachievers (O)

You either respect them or hate them, but there is no denying that overachievers mean business. Overachievers are :

* Thorough.
* Punctual.
* Organized.

Overachievers are natural masters of task completion. They do things on-time and ON PURPOSE. They want to make the grade and will do their best or better every single time. An O’s organizational skills are unparalleled – a professor has never given an O a failing grade because they lost a paper because the O already had a copy safely filed away just in case.

We now arrive at our most important question: what will allow you, with your strengths and weaknesses, to be the most prepared this fall? The answer is simple: Leverage your strengths and systematically eliminate your weaknesses.