Comparison: The Thief of Joy

Ah, social media. Where would we be without its endless stream of instant gratification and your weird uncle who still cannot take a profile picture right? Beneath the veneer of memes and trendy recipes, there is a dark truth looming.

Do not get me wrong. Social media is a very valuable tool. It keeps us informed and connected in a world where information flows faster than you can blink. I cannot think of any other way we could keep up with it. Almost everyone is on some form of social media. Herein lies the problem.

Peer pressure. In the past, it meant being pressured into some bad influence by your peers. These days it means something entirely different.

Look at that — your friend Brandon just got a job offer from that huge, successful corporation everyone knows. You should feel proud of Brandon and the hard work he has put in to get there. Instead, you are just a burning pit of jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. And what’s this? Shay made better grades than you did this semester. Why are you such a failure?

The peer pressure of today manifests differently as you can see. Social media is a giant flashing billboard of your peers’ achievements. You cannot help but compare yourself and it seems you are never good enough.

Let us get to the root of the problem. It is not them. It is you. You are basing your happiness on the success of others. People tend to judge themselves more than anyone else ever will. Therefore, you will always fall short.

You are on your own path. All that matters is that you walk it. Nobody else is on that path. Take it day by day. Try to do better than you did the day before. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is the past you. If you are doing better than you have done before, that is what really matters.

By Danny Holland - Danny is a senior public relations and advertising major and the Communications Intern for the Division of Student Affairs at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Note-Taking: The 411

Taking notes is easy—or is it? If you’re like me it just might be the hardest part of the whole learning process. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s some tips to help you power through that three hour lecture.

Do the assigned reading before class. That’s right. I said it. Your professor isn’t the only one who’s going to nag you about this. If you’re at least somewhat familiar with the material before the lecture, you’ll be much more likely to remember it. What’s more, you’ll have a better idea of which topics to best focus on and which topics require less of your time.

Fake it until you make it. Maybe the course you’re taking isn’t exactly up your alley. Maybe you’re an advertising major taking a theatre class to fill your schedule for scholarship requirements. If you go into the lecture with a bad attitude you’re going to come out with bad notes. Bad notes lead to a bad grade. A positive attitude will go a long way towards a positive outcome.

Prepare better. Runaway pencils seem to be quite a problem these days. Before you head out make sure you have everything you need to be successful. This includes your textbook. Sure, it might weigh 1,000 pounds—but that’s just the wealth of knowledge it contains. You don’t want to be the guy or gal who has to share a textbook with a neighbor. That’s just bad form.

Overall, it comes down to you. Note-taking isn’t the hardest thing in the world but it isn’t the easiest either. The effort you put into your notes has a huge impact on your grade.

Remember: Bad notes sink boats.

By Danny Holland - Danny is a senior public relations and advertising major and the Communications Intern for the Division of Student Affairs at The University of Southern Mississippi.

The Dreaded Zoom Meeting

We’ve all been there -- You’re 30 minutes into a Zoom meeting and more than half the class has their cameras off. Then you have somebody that forgot to mute their microphone – so there’s this odd buzzing noise cutting through your professor’s voice as he tries to pose a question. The deafening silence pierces your ears as both you and your professor stare into the rectangle-shaped void. Nobody answers.

Let’s be honest, the situation we find ourselves in now isn’t exactly comfortable but it’s the safest and best we can do right now. I must say, it might be a little bit better if everyone in the class would turn their cameras on.

I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for professors to put so much time and effort into their lessons only for it to be received by a series of silent black boxes. The lack of participation would be enough on its own -- but it’s the lack of connection that really irks me.

I get it. It is pretty weird being forced to look at your own reflection the entire time, fretting over your appearance and the fact that everyone can see your every move. Some students might not have access to a good webcam or the one they have may not work -- that, I can understand.

But if you have a fully functioning camera -- please -- just turn it on. I’ve noticed in classes where the majority of people have their cameras on it does make things much less awkward, especially for the professor.

Not only is turning your camera on beneficial to the professor but also to us. It leads to more feelings of connectedness as a group and helps to generate more group discussion. This, in turn, leads to a better understanding of the material.

And, you don’t even have to look at yourself the whole time. Zoom actually has a function that enables you to hide your video from yourself -- allowing it to still be displayed to the class. Simply right-click the video and choose “Hide Yourself” from the menu that appears.

If you’re in an environment where friends or family members may interrupt the meeting or distract you, find somewhere else you can go ahead of time; such as, a study room, your car or some other quiet place you know.

The bottom line is this -- I think the simple act of turning on your camera is a small step towards developing a sense of connection with your peers during a time when virtual interaction is our new normal. 

By Danny Holland - Danny is a senior public relations and advertising major and the Communications Intern for the Division of Student Affairs at The University of Southern Mississippi.

The Pomodoro Technique

First of all, you may be asking yourself, “Pomo-what?” Believe me. I had the same reaction the first time I heard about it.

The Pomodoro Technique is actually a pretty nifty focus tool, and I myself have used it with great success in my studies. You set a timer for a set interval of time, generally 25 minutes. You work on your projects. Once the timer is up, take a short break. Generally about 3-5 minutes long. Then you set the timer for 25 minutes and start over again.

How does it work? I think we’ve all struggled with distractions in today’s world. It’s easy to get sucked into an Internet wormhole when you have a fully-functioning computer in your pocket at all times. We may sometimes find ourselves working for hours and hours straight, yet it seems we’re hardly getting anything done. However, when you get down to it, we tend to get distracted and waste nearly half of that time, generally on our phones. The Pomodoro technique is a great solution to this common problem.

The Pomodoro Technique works by, for lack of a better word, forcing you to work during those 25 minutes. But, with the incentive of a 5 minute break at the end of that chunk of time, it makes it easy to work through. Not only this, but now you won’t have to feel guilty about looking at pictures of cute cats while you’re supposed to be working.

Here’s a fun fact: Pomodoro is actually the Italian word for tomato. The technique got its name from its creator, Francesco Cirillo, who first developed the technique as a college student in the late 80’s. What does a tomato have to do with this? He used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato.

Funny enough, things haven’t changed much in the past 30+ years. Most people today set their timers with an Apple. 

By Danny Holland - Danny is a senior public relations and advertising major and the Communications Intern for the Division of Student Affairs at The University of Southern Mississippi.