Five Thousand Meters to Walk and Read

MC Voices

Six weeks into the semester and 500,000 steps to and from campus. The majority, 4/5, of my classes are online but the last one I take is at 10 AM and located 3 miles away from me at Takoma Park MC. It’s quite a journey every Tuesday and Thursday, but by no means do I despise it. Well, to be honest every morning I don’t feel like doing it, but once I’m on my way there’s nothing stopping me. I have this same attitude to school work. Online classes are a valid and valuable option at MC, but they are by no means a shortcut. There is a ton of work; it’s pretty much a full time job for me to be reading or doing math homework. I never want to start it after the long walk, so I work with myself and let some T.V. enter my diet before I begin on the weekly assignments.

Me after 4 hours of straight reading and analysis.

If you have long hours of work, which most college students have, but struggle to maintain your concentration for extended hours, I recommend the 1-1 or 30-30 method. 1 hour or 3o minutes on (working) and 1 hour or 30 minutes off (rest or eating). Oh and last, GO FOR A WALK.  I cannot stress this enough if you want to feel good about your body and yourself or you just need to relax; the best way to do that is simply to walk. Balance is key to anything, but college for sure.

-Jacob

I am 20 years old and reside (for the most part) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I am on my second full year of classes(one year I took a single class as I was working). I have, however, recently moved to Prince George’s County and take my classes almost fully online for the exception of one short class at Takoma Park MC. I plan to finish my associates this fall or winter semester and transfer to a 4-year with an associates in General Studies.

Montgomery College has been my main occupancy for the past 2 years and I believe it’s also been the setting in which I’ve transformed and grown as an individual the most. I won’t say that the College is fully responsible for my change, but it has been a nurturing environment for me to trip up and fall down a couple times. Whether the issue was medical, personal, or economical. MC has been a forgiving institute, that I can say is unique to any 4-year. I feel that if I didn’t take my first steps at MC I wouldn’t be in college right now. I’d be in the army. Hmm, don’t the say the pen is mightier than the sword anyway?

So what now? Well I hope this introduction can show you a little of my background, as I am not a deeply personal man, I actually don’t talk about myself much, even less do I complain. Yet, I see this blog as accomplishing a task greater than a self-dominated diary of my experiences. I want this blog to persuade you to, if you haven’t decided already, to enroll at Montgomery College, I promise you won’t regret it.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Like your graphic Jake! It looks like me before I have a pot of coffee 😉 But seriously, at first when I read 3 miles was quite a distance to go, I figured you were driving. Then, I realized you are walking! Wow – this is some dedication to get to your class! I like your suggestions about taking a break because most of us – well, likely none of us – can keep concentration for very long. Even a 5 minute distraction is helpful to ‘unclutter the brain’. Great suggestion. I look forward to reading your blogs!

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