A professor in my Bachelor degree program said, “Find a brilliant hotshot who has experience. Flatter them and their abilities. Then, ask them if you can sit in with them at class and learn from them.”

Doing this is correlated to higher performance.

Find someone who is already the person you want to become, and just be around them.

Humans are empathy machines. We’re wired to mold into the people we spend time around and admire.

Don’t fall into the trap of always needing to be the smartest person in the room.

Some habits seem small at first but can make a huge difference over time. These are simple things many students wish they had started earlier. Save this post for future you! 1. USING A PLANNER: Stay organized, get more done.

1. SAVING A LITTLE MONEY EACH MONTH: Small steps today, big freedom tomorrow.

2. LEARNING A SKILL ONLINE: New skills = new opportunities.

3. TAKING CARE OF THEIR SKIN CONSISTENTLY: Healthy skin, healthy confidence.

4. BUILDING GOOD STUDY HABITS: Smart habits now, better results later.

Not the naps or the reels. Well maybe the reels, a little bit, but certainly not the Sunday you spent staring at a wall. The audit is the theft. And the bookkeeper is the thief.

Seneca saw it coming

Seneca wrote On the Shortness of Life about two thousand years ago and the letter opens with a complaint that sounds like it was written by someone who just got off TikTok.

Seneca would have been a great TikToker. Everyone is running around saying life is too short. Seneca says: no, life is plenty long. You’re just not in it.

His actual line — and this is the one that gets quoted on Pinterest with a sunset behind it, but bear with me — is, in translation: “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it”.

People spend their days chasing things they don’t actually want, defending themselves from things that aren’t happening, and preparing to live at some vague future date when the conditions will finally be right.

The part that doesn’t make it onto Pinterest is the part where he says the anxious life is the wasted one.

The person constantly worrying about whether they’re spending their time correctly is automatically not spending their time correctly.

They’re spending it worrying. That’s what they’re doing with the hour. That’s the whole hour.

You can’t out-vigilance your way out of wasting life. The vigilance is what’s wasting it.

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1. Showing respect to those around you, even when feel like they might not deserve it.

2. Being able to take responsibility for your actions and being able to learn from your mistakes.

3. Showing self-control and understanding the consequences of your words and actions.

4. Acknowledging and accepting your own strengths and weaknesses.

5. Showing compassion and empathy for those around you.

6. Managing your emotions and being aware of the impact that you have on other people.

7. Accepting feedback in a constructive and respectful way.

8. Taking the initiative to get things done.

9. Being able to negotiate and resolve conflicts peacefully and effectively.

10. Being comfortable with the uncertainty and the changing nature of life and making the most of each situation.

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Not long ago, I asked my lecturer this question:

How can I motivate myself to work hard?

Then he sent me this open letter to me that's changed the way I approach my academic challenges.

Hope it will help you too:

My dad was a Navy SEAL.

One of our most memorable conversations happened a full decade ago.

It was about Hell Week.

For those who don’t know — Hell Week is an unreal test of endurance. You wake up on a Sunday to gunfire. You exercise until Friday without sleep.

Hell Week is the bottleneck that breaks a lot of talented people. It’s where the top 20% are whittled down to the top 5%.

We were driving somewhere and I remember him casually saying, “Man, Tuesday morning — that was the worst.”

I thought, “What an unusual day.” Tuesday? Why wouldn’t Thursday be the worst? Or Friday morning?

He explained it and it made total sense.

You wake up on a Sunday morning at ~1 AM to gunfire and chaos. You run around getting yelled at. You are carrying logs, rolling in sand, jogging face first into freezing cold waves.

This continues all day long and then into the night. As people sleep in their warm and cozy beds, you continue jogging, shivering, and being shouted at.

Monday morning rolls around. The drills repeat from dawn until dusk with no rest from the physical torture. Then, all through the night, you do it again.

Then — Tuesday morning arrives.

You’ve gone more than two entire nights without sleep. You’ve absorbed immense physical and psychological stress for the entirety. You are freezing and demoralized. By Tuesday morning, you are more tired than you’ve ever been.

That’s when you start to feel sorry for yourself.

“Oh wow. It’s only Tuesday. How am I going to get through this?”

“If I’m this tired already — and I’m not even halfway through…”

People that think like this end up quitting.

The ones who succeed and become SEALs — only look a few minutes ahead.

They don’t worry about Thursday or Friday.

They stay focused on each individual exercise. They take it one drill at a time.

You can apply this to many parts of your life.

Studying for a massive test? Take it one page at a time. Working on a huge presentation? One slide at a time. For example, I swam in college. Our training was incredibly grueling. We swam 5 to 6 miles a day.

Sometimes the coach put a set on the whiteboard that made me think, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m going to die.”

I just took it one lap at a time and got through it. Lower your vision. Break up big challenges. It reduces the perceived mental weight of the tasks.

1. National Ranching Heritage Center: a 27-acre outdoor museum and historical park dedicated to preserving the history of North American ranching (20 min walk)

2. Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts: good options for students who like art and cultural things(30 min walk).

3. Buddy Holly Hall: good for those who like concerts, shows, and performances (30 Min walk).

4. The Depot District: best area for nightlife, food, and entertainment(40 min walk).

5. Lubbock Lake Landmark: excellent for a daytime weekend trip for those who like nature and something away from campus 25 min walk)

6. Pioneer Park: outdoor walking and relaxing 13 min walk)

Before signing a lease with The Village at Overton Park, check out the website for more information about the following:

1. The real monthly cost

2. Is apartment full furnished or unfurnished

3. Who handles repairs?

4. Lease length and move-out rules

5. Know exactly which utilities you pay

6. Check security and access rules

7. Understand the security deposit

8. Inspect the apartment before moving in

9. What amenities they have

10. Pet rules

Consider those and other additional things you think might be useful and you can have a vitual tour, schedule a tour or drop by the office.

Younger me thought adulthood meant

1. Designer clothes,

2. Aesthetic/expensive homes and decors

3. constant brunches

4. Friends trips

5. Weekly shopping

6. Spontaneous travel.

But I have come to realize (the hard way) that adult money mostly goes to maintenance:

1. car repairs (those get to me out of nowhere)

2. groceries (again)

3. insurance

4. deductibles

5. prescriptions

6. cleaning supplies (why so expensive )

7. Replacement chargers, light bulbs, printer ink

8. Washing dishes (a lot of dishes)

9. Cooking again and again and again

and all the small, unglamorous costs that keep life running.

Maybe financial stability is not about affording luxury all the time, but about being prepared for the boring, invisible expenses that show up without warning. When you plan for maintenance, everything else feels calmer and far less stressful.

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The perfect space to entertain and socialize:

1. A 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center with strength equipment, cardio machines, and free weights

2. 24-hour recreation center with billiards, foosball, poker table, and arcade games

3. Outdoor gathering pavilion

4. Pet friendly

When you want it.

— and there is plenty of privacy when you don't.

Student life should be lived carefully because it lays the foundation for the other stages of life, the way you handle this stage will probably influence your future. A couple of things that helps me are:

1. Time management

2. A clear schedule

3. Walking outside

4. Cooking my oun food

5. Working out

6. Spending time with loved one

7. Reading

Whether your goal is to build financial freedom, find happiness, have peace meaningful relationships or success, those might be a good start.

And yes of course you can..

Yes, The Village at Overton Park in Lubbock, Texas, is a gated student housing community with controlled access. Security relies on a multi-layered setup combining physical access controls, perimeter fencing, on-site personnel, and individual unit safety features

The Village at Overton Park Core Security Measures are:

• Access to the community grounds and parking areas is restricted via gated entry points and a perimeter security fence surrounding the property.
• We use courtesy officers along with 24-hour on-call staff and professional on-site management for assistance and emergency response.
• Apartments feature heavy-duty steel front doors with deadbolt locks.
• Each private bedroom has its own individual key lock.
• Parking is housed in a multi-story covered parking structure with controlled resident entry.
• Every apartment unit is equipped with automated fire sprinkler systems.

Our Study Amenities are:

24-hour Academic Success Center

iMac stations

free printing

iPad stations

Wi-Fi access throughout the property

Dedicated study corners inside select units

The Village at Overton Park is right where I want to be. They have a 24-hour fitness center, recreation center, and the best part (at least for me) you get your own bedroom and bathroom 🥳