By Benita Ntihinyurwa, current IUHS Online student:
Mind over matter. You can be so powerful. I realized throughout my time in online school I really thought quantity over quality was the way to it. I was trying to plan out doing my assignments and finishing them in one day every day including weekends because I thought if I finished all my assignments efficiently and competitively I would finish school and have weeks to spare before winter break. This is a bad way to approach things as I needed that spare time to put quality into my assignments and submit my best work. I learned not to give in to quantity. I can’t turn in assignments or papers as quickly as possible and turn my head and move on to the next. That will never be healthy. Our brains are complex and powerful but when your brain consumes too much information or material it starts to crumble like a piece of paper and when you go to use it it will be so tiring to the point of burnout. I learned that the hard way. It is also essential to take care of your mental and spiritual mind. By that I mean to take of your soul. Take breaks, watch or listen to whatever you want, eat the foods you love, try something new or don’t. Do what makes your soul happy! All the individual experiences you are going to face will be different and unique. As we go through school, high school to be more exact, we should not be so hard on ourselves. If we are, when high school ends we will forget all the great lessons we’ve learned and have nothing but stressful negative memories. It is like a race where you can go as slow or as fast as you want just don’t worry because eventually, we’ll all cross the finish line. Don’t look back and regret not doing it your way.