A new school year is soon upon us, and with it the opportunity to improve and grow. Every new semester I will tell myself to do the most critical homework the moment I am assigned it. I also decide to finally start keeping track of my schedule, making a detailed plan to organize myself day by day. I also tell myself to actually try understanding the material in my classes without just writing it down and forgetting about it, only to be regurgitated on tests. I set a plan to become a more social human being and not just become a study-train-eat zombie. I convince myself to be challenged by others points of view and have an intelligent discussion with them rather than start a shouting match.

Alas, most of these goals fall by the wayside year after year, and I am left clinging for school survival. It is very easy to lose motivation when times get tough, easy to get angered by people who don't agree with you during these times when you believe your point is the most valid, and easy to eliminate all contact with the rest of society as you cram for that critical exam. Chances are, many of you can relate to one of these common problems.

Here are a few suggestions for how to make drastic improvements in your school life and beyond:

Actually Try: Our generation has developed a reputation of being just a bunch of lazy millennials who want to see results without putting in any real work. For the most part, I am going to have to agree with that. This is not at all related to politics, I have seen a lack of effort from both the left and right. This is about our unwillingness to keep going when the going gets tough. Yes your schoolwork will be difficult, but guess what? The rest of your life will be difficult, and sometimes the best way to prepare for what is coming is to practice now while the stakes are much lower. Literally just suck it up and deal with it.

Be a problem solver: My Dad has been on a university faculty for the last 20 or so years and one characteristic that he noticed has changed between his students from 10-15 years ago and his students today is that his students today are a lot less likely to try solving a problem for themselves, they either want him to give them the answer or give them the process to find the answer. Something he has drilled in my head from an early age is the simple, yet effective "figure it out". Yes, you will actually have to open the textbook. Yes, you will make lots of mistakes along the way. Following this advice kept me in the GIS lab in Traphagen Hall for as many as 5-6 hours of frustration and false hope at a time, but eventually I would find the solution and have learned more as a result. It might seem stupidly simple, but it is amazing how little time many students will spend trying to figure it out.

Eliminate Safe Zones: This may seem out of context, and I recognize the need to get rid of discriminatory hate speech (this is the 21st century folks, we should be mature enough to not have to put each other down on the basis of ethnicity or sexual orientation), but safe zones on campuses essentially were created to keep students from being faced with any ideas that might contradict their own, or anger them. Most faculty at universities carry the strong belief that if your opinion on a major issue hasn't been changed at least once in your time there, then that university has failed in their mission to educate you. You will gain the ability to discuss topics intelligently by choosing to face them head-on.

Even if this is only 3 items, embracing these little changes might make you a tougher, more tolerant, harder working person. Good luck as you enter fall semester.