Motivation and My Lack Thereof

The hardest thing about college is not living on your own. It's not being far from home, missing your friends and family, and it's not learning the hard way that if you leave that half-empty container of Cup Noodles on your desk for too long, it will eventually develop intelligent life. And neither is the hardest thing your classes or your homework.

The hardest thing is finding the motivation to get out of bed and go to your classes. It is stepping away from the wonders of the Internet and eschewing the parties long enough to get your assignments done so that you don't fail your classes.
And what makes it so hard is that you have to do it all without someone saying, "Get up, you'll be late for school. Shut the tv off, you have homework. I want you home by midnight." etc.

For some lucky people, this isn't all that hard. They go to bed at a decent hour after getting their assignments done, get up easily, and go to classes. But for others, remembering to do our assignments, getting out of bed, and going to classes is a chore. And the depression that may come with missing your friends and family, being away from home, and being trapped in a routine that you may not necessarily like does nothing to make it any easier.

So what can you do to lift the fog and/or make doing things easier? Well, that's mostly up to you, but here are some suggestions:
-- go home every other weekend or so
-- call your friends on a regular basis
-- get a job that'll (a) let you meet new people and (b) get you off campus for a few hours
-- join a club
-- have a set time every night for doing your homework
-- set up a study group with some friends

Good luck!

Shuttle Bus Services from Hell

The shuttle bus service at Salem State is absolutely abysmal. A bus is supposed to arrive at the stop every fifteen to twenty minutes, or so they told us during Orientation. However, what actually ends up happening is people waiting at the stop for half an hour or more, and as soon as someone gets fed up and begins to walk away, both buses arrive. And the downtown shuttle? Doesn't exist. It's a myth. I have only ever seen it once.

I believe that to fix this problem, the school should do a few things. The first is to add a third bus to the campus circuit. Second, they should write up a clear, easy-to-understand schedule for the buses, and post one at every stop. The bus drivers should be rewarded for sticking to the schedule, and punished for arriving late. This should ensure that students are not stuck waiting in the heat, cold, rain, etc., and are not late for their classes or other engagements. Also, there should be no instances in which there are two buses at one stop, or a bus does not stop when there are people waiting.

And as for the downtown shuttle, it too should have a set schedule posted at the stops it makes. No-one I have ever spoken to about it has any idea whatsoever when the downtown shuttle is due to come around. This is a problem! If no-one knows where the shuttle will be at what time, then how are students and professors supposed to utilize a resource that is meant for them?