Different Person, Different Habit by Kaylla

Different Person, Different Habit by Kaylla - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

Finding a study habit that provokes effective and perpetual results has always been a major struggle of mine. Index cards, reading the material over and over again, and YouTubing tutorials have been my study go-to that I have constantly relied on. Unfortunately, they were not as reliable as I held them to be. I frequently caught myself stuck in the same repetitive cycle of getting distracted and dozing off in the middle of a sentence. I never fully grasped the material, and if I did; it took hours to cover one subject. Subsequently, for about a year I reassured myself by believing studying just was not for me. Everyone is different, and studying is just not everyone’s forte. I was right about one thing though. Everyone is different, but I made the mistake of thinking that studying was not a dynamic habit. Fortunately, I was also wrong. Studying is relative. Everyone is different; therefore their studying habits should be as well.

At this point of realization, I started developing my personal habit of study by first figuring out the type of learner that I am. I am a visual learner, which made complete sense, seeing as though reading a sentence over and over again never cut it before. I needed to physically see the process to understand the process. A teacher could tell me a million times about how respiration is the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide, and I would still have no idea what she was saying by the end of the day. Although, if the teacher were to draw a diagram with arrows and give me something to actually look at? I’d know the process of cellular respiration in a heartbeat. So now I could cross out one study technique, no more repetitive reading.

After realizing that I was a visual learner, I also noticed that I am at my prime as a student when I am intrigued. Lack of interest was the major cause of my constant failed attempts to studying. No matter how much I prepared prior to the study date, I did not actually want to learn the material. That was it. I needed to motivate and induce interest into my study habits. I began by planning a study date a couple days ahead. This reduced the stress from the spontaneous and overwhelming need to learn the material as quick as possible and at last minute. I was able to have enough time to prepare and fill my thoughts with positive vibes that caused me to look forward to the study date with myself, rather than dread it. I also focused on where I was studying. I began searching for places that I felt most comfortable and could stay focused. For me, this was at my kitchen table when my parents were at work, and my sisters were out doing extracurricular activities. I had no distraction. Now that I knew visual learning was the easiest way for me to grasp concepts, I began printing out diagrams that I found while preparing for the date, which allowed me to have a visual reference whenever I crossed a confusing moment. I also began rewriting the material in my own way, creating my own diagrams, and making real-life comparisons that made the concept easier to understand and way more interesting. I no longer lacked interest.