Not everyone has an easy time choosing their major, and that’s not hard to understand. For the most part, though, students are excited to be able to choose their own academic path in college, learning what they want and ideally, ignoring the rest. But what happens when your academic yellow brick road leads you straight to a class that makes the witch’s castle feel like an amusement park? Freshmen and upperclassmen alike often run into this problem, as required classes drop our GPA, dilute our positivity, and drain us of our will to succeed. Oftentimes, it feels impossible to survive a 50-minute, twice-a-week lecture on a topic you resent. It’s difficult to study information that feels unrelated to your major. It’s even harder to listen to a professor who makes minutes seem like hours in a classroom that feels like a dungeon. Why does this happen? The easy and practical answer is, “It’s required at my school.” While this is likely the truth (we don’t volunteer for academic torture), the class’ necessity is not going to provide much motivation. Motivation to succeed has to come from within you, and it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
First, find one, just one, aspect of the class that you like, or hate the least. It may be the teacher has a nice voice, or the lecture notes are online, or the tests are short. Use this positive element to your advantage, and let it distract you from the negative. Focusing on something positive makes it easier to go to class, study, and ultimately, get the grade you want.
Secondly, ask for help. You likely don’t know a lot about whatever subject you’re being forced to study, but someone does. Find a sister, a roommate, or a friend to help you work through the difficulties with you. They can provide valuable insight into your problems while making you feel less alone. Additionally, their own passion for that field of study can provide you with a fresh perspective and maybe a smidge of appreciation for your class. In this case, your trash is another’s treasure. Use this to your advantage, and let someone help you.
Lastly, and possibly most practically, don’t waste too much time. I’m not saying you’ll benefit in any way from giving up, and your academic chair is probably ready to cringe at the fact that any study time could be wasted time. However, sometimes we are just not made for the classes we take. Sometimes, our brains can’t handle extra study time, and additional homework. Sometimes, we max out earlier than we feel we should. The inability to exhaust yourself on something you hate is OK. Set an exact amount of time to study, max out for that period of time, and then close your book. Allowing your negative thoughts toward a class affect your success in other classes is detrimental to your emotional health and your GPA.
Ultimately, you may never get excited walking into Spanish 202, Physics 105, or Underwater Basket Weaving 400, but you can improve your chances of success by changing your attitude. And hey, you might even learn a thing or two.
