Music and Bullet Points: The Ways of Success by Jessica

Music and Bullet Points: The Ways of Success by Jessica - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

Attending college as a non-traditional student forced me to look deeper into how I study and what inspires me to truly benefit. I tried following the usual fallbacks (i.e., cramming, study groups, flash cards) to no avail. Nothing seemed to really work. I skated by with prior knowledge or memorization on most examinations in my earlier classes. Then I stumbled upon a combination that works best: outlining in Microsoft Word and reorganizing said notes while listening to orchestra/classical pieces or movie scores.

In high school, one of my favorite history teachers taught our class to use bullet form notes. In 1997, this was definitely before the domination of MS Word files for schoolwork and note taking. Most high schoolers did not have personal laptops, so we had to write everything by hand. I vaguely remembered the idea but I did not remember the importance until I returned to full-time college at 30. After obtaining my Associates of Science in Psychology, I changed my major to English. By changing my major, I needed to refocus on my noting skills and how to focus on what was important. I remembered the outline lessons as a junior at a new college. Now when I reorganize my notes, adding in what I missed, I have a clearer picture of what is important to my professors and my education beyond the class. With my interdisciplinary concentration, it is important for me to be able to connect various courses and programs with the English portion of my degree. Reflecting on the topic, I noticed a pattern of being able to use notes between courses based on how well my notes are organized; however, that is only one half of my needs since I am easily distracted by words.

I discovered that I need the background noise so I can associate the words with something with a specific rhythm. In fact, Ramin Djawadi’s scores are the easiest to study because the songs have deep flows and rhythms with varying instrumentals. His work allows me to focus on what I’m reading and what I’m processing beyond my professor’s words and meanings. I have similar scores included in my playlist(s) but Djawadi seems to focus my mind in the most organized way. Before I found his scores, I used television and movies with strong elements like classical music. I have an MP3 labeled just for study music so that I will not get distracted and reach for distracting music or podcasts. Knowing the color, I know exactly what I’ll be focusing on when I grab the player. The music also takes away the boundaries of program (literature, art, history) and places equal importance on each topic.

Combining both elements (writing and music) creates a study habit that allows me to concentrate on subjects and maintain/advance my 3.33 GPA. Without distractions, I am able to research and flesh out subjects, which is really important as a student looking to attend a graduate program in Fall 2015.