Successfully completing a college degree can sometimes feel like an impossible and unending odyssey. Inevitably, one hits a point in the academic year where the whole affair feels like a slog. No matter how much work is completed or time is spent studying, the toil seems to amount to nothing. 

It is possible that this sense of futility is at least partially engendered by a near-sightedness. When one is actually hunched over a textbook, trying to read the same sentence over and over, it can be difficult to get out of a state of frustration. In this frustration, one fails to take into consideration the basic fact of progress. Simply put: when I’m irritated or tired from doing academic work, I am unable to realize both that the work I’m doing is actually work (and not just suffering) and that this work is part of a broader project (that of getting a college degree).

The question is: how does one manage to track progress, both at a small-scale (the progress I make in doing individual assignments) and at large-scale (my overall progress in my degree path)? The unhelpful advice here would be to say: try getting less annoyed when you’re doing work so that you can keep a clear enough head to register yourself as being productive. The reason why this advice is unhelpful is because getting a degree and doing assignments are just the kinds of things that will inevitably be hard to do. 

Therefore, I want to give some advice about tracking progress and growth, even when one is annoyed or in a general state of panic. I’ll start my advice by going through an analogous case. I happen to love knitting, but it is quite a labor-intensive and time-consuming hobby. I love the look of a finished object, but sometimes doing row after row of stitches feels like torture. Hours of knitting can yield just a centimeter or two of fabric. So, how can I remain motivated enough to finish a nice garment? 

Knitters who are struck by knitting fatigue may find their energy revitalized if they place markers indicating where they started knitting to where they ended knitting for that particular day. In other words, I’ve learned that I can take a little clip and attach it to the fabric at the start of my knitting session, and then when I’m done, I can compare the amount of fabric I’ve created by measuring the distance from this initial marker. The reminder is a physical reminder – its physicality is what prevents a slip into a near-sightedness that makes one unable to mark progress. 

What is the equivalent of this physical knitting-marker to real life? The answer is: “It depends!” What counts as a marker to an individual is dependent on what they think they would be able to see even in a state of agony or despair. With knitting, it’s pretty easy for everyone to pick out a physical clip stuck on to a particular section of fabric. But what people see as a ‘marker’ in a similar fashion in real life is harder to identify. 

Probably the most common thing people do to create physical markers of progress is to keep a journal. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing, but it can be good to write about persistent issues or concerns. When I was in high school, I had persistent issues with interpersonal relations and would use journaling as a means of thinking through my problems. It’s not clear to me that the act of journaling itself helped me to resolve my issues, but when I rediscovered the journals and read through them, I could very clearly see the ways that my thinking itself had evolved. Even though I was struggling through some of the same issues, I could see that I had made progress. 

Being able to visualize my own development through my writing gave me impetus to continue working on issues. My journaling was in no way consistent; my entries were far-apart and often disconnected. Still, thumbing through them was useful to me: when I was struck by something particularly unpleasant or difficult, I noted it down and this was enough to yield a fruitful point of comparison. 

If you have difficulties taking the time to write things out in a journal, it can also be useful to talk to friends when you feel stuck in an academic slog. Near-sightedness, and generally an inability to see one’s own progression, is a you-specific problem. Your friends are more likely to be able to keep a clear-head and assess you — because they are not you. 

Of course, journaling and consulting friends are not the sole ways of tracking personal growth and progress. What will work for one individual may not work for another, but the trick is finding some way of creating markers. Progress can be difficult to estimate, particularly when one is feeling annoyed or irritated. Consider making your life easier by intentionally creating markers. 

The end of the year is approaching and with it comes the end of my first year of college. I can honestly say that I have never learned more in a year than I have as a first-year at William Jewell College.

Yes, I’ve learned how to write papers fast and who John Stuart Mill was. I’ve learned about discrimination in the United States, how to calculate interest and I’ve studied a multitude of British literary works. If you want to learn those things, take the classes.

There’s another kind of learning that happens as a first-year – the kind that doesn’t always happen in the classroom. These are some of the lessons I’ve learned in my first year living away from home.

Growth doesn’t mean starting over

When I got to college, I felt like a completely different person. I mourned for all the activities I participated in in high school and for the life I used to live.

Then I realized that I still was that same person, I was just getting to experience a whole new aspect of life. I still possessed all those happy memories. I still had my old friends and my family – I was just getting to add to my circles. New experiences don’t delete the past – they just add to it.

People aren’t replaceable

On a conceptual level, people clearly aren’t replaceable. Everyone is unique – but it can be difficult to remind yourself of that in practice.

I hunted for people with qualities similar to my friends from high school. I attempted to find new friends who were like my old ones – but those people don’t exist. It can be difficult to make friends unless you keep your mind open and get to know someone as an individual, not as a replacement.

Once I started spending time with people with an open mind and quit comparing them to people I used to know, I started to value them for their own unique qualities and form true friendships.

Doing laundry is not difficult

This is a little embarrassing, but my mom always did my laundry in high school. Pop culture makes a big deal over college kids messing up their laundry once they get to college, so I expected it to be some complex art that I would have to master.

Then I got to college and I realized you just throw in your detergent, throw in the clothes and hit start. Then you dry what can be dried and hang dry what can’t. It’s not hard. Now driving in downtown Kansas City is a different story – I’m still working on that one.

Therapy isn’t just for depression

The transition to college is difficult for many people – I was no exception. I had been at school for about two months and I was sad frequently for no apparent reason. I felt like nothing was actually happening to me, like I was in a dream.

I don’t have depression or any other diagnosable mental health disorder, but I just didn’t feel right. I decided to take advantage of the free individual therapy that William Jewell offers. I am so thankful that I did – it helped me to process my emotions and I learned a lot of tips to deal with anxiety.

I always thought that I wasn’t “sick enough” for therapy. A lot of people don’t seek out counselling because they don’t want to deal with the stigma of mental illness or because they don’t have a mental illness. There shouldn’t be a stigma around something that can improve life quality so exponentially. Therapy can be helpful for getting through any kind of big life adjustment – there isn’t a measurement that determines whether or not your trauma is “severe enough” for therapy.

It’s okay to be alone

I came to college with my mind occupied by one goal: to make friends. Some of the most common college advice I got was to be extroverted in the beginning and go out of my way to meet people.

This left me feeling like I constantly needed to be talking to people, eating with people, and studying with people. I felt like being alone meant that I was failing at my task to make friends.

There is nothing wrong with being alone sometimes. Some alone time can be very beneficial when adjusting to a new situation. Go drive off campus to a coffee shop alone for an afternoon or – gasp – eat alone in the cafeteria. That is allowed – and nobody will think you are weird.

One of the best parts about college is the independence it provides. If you are constantly with other people, you don’t get to experience how liberating it is to have the freedom to do your own thing.

Friends are a crucial aspect of college life, but don’t force them. Get involved in a few activities and friends will come naturally – and don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen the first week of school. It might not even be until second semester, but friendships will eventually happen. For now, relish some alone time.

The world is full of talent, that doesn’t discredit your own

Jewell is teeming with smart and talented people. If you are the type of person who places their self worth in achievement, this can be terrifying at first. I felt like I was surrounded by geniuses who were valedictorians and student council presidents and played three sports in high school. I suddenly felt like I had no identity – the achievements in high school that I found my value in evaporated in comparison to my new peers’ accolades.

I soon began to learn that just because everyone else is an overachiever does not mean my skills are of any less value. I felt like the dumbest person in a lot of rooms, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have anything to bring to the classroom.

To be surrounded by talent is to be surrounded by people to learn from. Just because you have room to improve does not mean where you are at isn’t pretty spectacular.

You don’t need an end goal

College kids are asked pretty frequently what they want to do with their degree after they graduate. I am very much a planner and to not have an answer to this question used to scare me.

I’m learning, however, that an end goal is a rather unrealistic concept. Life is completely unpredictable. We can’t know what ideas will someday strike us or what opportunities we might be presented. I try to make decisions as they present themselves to me so that I will be the best prepared for a variety of careers that interest me.

It is okay to not have the future figured out – even if you did have it figured out, it would find a way to surprise you. Take classes that refine skills that you already possess or that teach you skills that you think could be useful in a career that interests you. Try to enjoy the learning itself without constantly concerning yourself with how the learning will apply. Involve yourself in things related to a variety of careers to test the waters and see if you might enjoy that field.

If you feel lost, that’s okay. College doesn’t need to be a step-by-step guide to the one job that you will have until retirement. College is a time that overflows with opportunity and learning, and while neither of these things will always tell you exactly what you should do, they can form your path towards realizing your passions and making an impact on the world.

My first year of college was a tumultuous time. There were moments that I hated and many more moments that I loved. I wouldn’t trade any of the experiences I had for anything. I learned so much about myself and about the world this year and I hope to have passed a little of that on to you.