Be Studious - by Chloe

My parents are both educators, so school was always an important part of my daily life. They always stressed that it is a privilege to be able to afford a good education and that my brother and I should work hard and do our best. My parents have instilled in my brother and I the importance of being studious.

Being studious is not necessarily about getting straight A’s or graduating with honors, and studious people are not always the smartest or the “nerdiest”, they are just people who work hard and have a successful work ethic. As I have worked my way through high school and have just recently finished my first year of college, I have learned that being studious has much more to do with personal standards. I have learned that procrastinating and stress prevent me from being studious because they disable me from being able to turn in my best work. Being studious has everything to do with never settling for less than your personal best work and allowing for the time to create it.

            Here are just a few tips for how to BE STUDIOUS:

1. Work ahead: Do not procrastinate. Sometimes it may feel necessary to work on things until the very last minute, but it will save you a lot of stress and earn you a lot of sleep if you develop a system of always being a few steps ahead. Getting behind is like GPA murder, so staying ahead gives you a little bit of wiggle room if one week is especially stressful.

2. Set goals: If you have a grade in mind or a certain percentage of improvement it will help motivate you to work hard.

3. Never settle for less than your best: If you turn in something that is sub-par because you ran out of time at the last minute you risk doing as well as you could have.

4. Sleep is not a waste of time: Getting enough sleep helps you to do your best work. No one works well on 2 or 3 hours of sleep, so don’t feel guilty about taking a nap if you are too exhausted to think. I have had to learn that naps can be a good use of a half hour, because they can make you much more productive later.

5. Don’t compare yourself to others: Being studious has nothing to do with anyone else. Do YOUR personal best and know that is good enough. It doesn't matter what anyone else can do or what grade they got. Focus on your own improvement.

      Chloe McLaughlin is a college freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana majoring in Church Music and Christian Worship. Originally from Frankfort, Indiana, Chloe was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Indiana for 2012. Learn more about Chloe here! 

National Be Your Best Self Week - Be Studios - a video from Christina

This week, April 22-26, is National Be Your Best Self Week! Christina Maxwell, Distinguished Young Woman of America shares her thoughts on being studious, one of five elements that make up the Be Your Best Self program. Check back throughout the week for more videos from Christina!




Christina Maxwell is a college freshman at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan majoring in Musical Theatre. Originally from Asheville , North Carolina, Christina was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of North Carolina for 2012 and the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2012. Learn more about Christina here!

It’s Just a Letter - by Carly

We've all heard people say that size is just a number.  Well, when you get back an exam, that little mark at the top of the page is just a letter.  It is so easy to get hung up on that one red letter at the top of a paper or test!  But, I am here to reassure you that your life does not depend on one grade. 

I am living with all of the honors students at school this year; so, when exams role around, everyone gets a little antsy.  Non-honors students do not seem to stress about one exam, but the honors students act as if their lives depend on it!  I myself used to stress about each and every test, but I’ve realized that it is not worth the anxiety.

Sure, it is VERY important to do well in school.  Solid grades help you get into college and graduate school.  But, learning valuable skills in school is even more important!  When you enter the real world, your employer will not care if you can ace an exam.   They will want an employee who can be personable, organized, and hardworking (the list goes on and on, but “excellent test taker” does not top the list!).

A few blog posts ago I talked about my professor who encouraged me to go on an adventure and explore the world around me.  If you are too busy stressing about grades, those experiences will fly right past your nose.  Whether it be a new friendship, networking opportunity, or an internship, you can’t let an obsession with grades blind you from what is really important.  

I encourage everyone to keep working hard and studying, of course!  When that test is placed in front of you, take a deep breath and know that you can handle it!  After that huge term paper or midterm, treat yourself to some “me” time.  Why stress about each and every question that you may or may not have done incorrectly?  One assessment will not determine your success!  Take a look around and find the big picture happening around you.  You may be surprised to find that those little red letters are out of sight in the grand scheme of things.


 Carly Henry is a college freshman at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania majoring in biochemistry with a minor is business. Originally from York, Pennsylvania, Carly was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Pennsylvania for 2012. Learn more about Carly here!

Study Tips - by Ali

Have you ever studied for hours and felt really confident going into a test only to get your score back and see that you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped? Sadly, most of us have experienced this heartbreak at least once. This week, I definitely experienced this feeling of complete disappointment but I was able to learn from it and figure out how I can improve for the next one! I have put together a list of 5 tips to help when it comes to studying and managing your time during crazy weeks like mine!


1.    Start early. This week I had three midterm exams, seven quizzes, six chapters to read (each about 30 pages long!) and on top of that, I had to prepare to coach my hometown dance team at Nationals this past weekend. Welcome to college, right? There will be times when your exams and assignments may fall on the same week or maybe even the same day. My advice would be to start studying early! You will know when every exam is at the beginning of the semester so you will be able to plan it out ahead of time. Try to mix it up by studying for one class for an hour and then the other class for the next hour. Studying one subject for hours at a time doesn’t help as much!

2.    Say “No”. You will be tempted to go out. Friends will ask you to go out with them this weekend or there may be an event with a group your involved in (for me, it was my sorority) but you have to try and refrain. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take breaks or become a hermit or something like that but if you do choose to go out, try to make it short (an hour or two). Trust me, there will be weekends when you’ll have nothing to do and you can go out then! 

3.    Again, take breaks! There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a break from studying. If you feel like your brain is about to explode, take a quick walk or eat a snack. It’s kind of like hitting the refresh button on your Internet. Sometimes, you just need a break. I read somewhere that for every hour you study you should give yourself a 15-minute break. Powernap, ready, set, go!

4.    Just breathe. Try your best not to stress too much because that will just make things worse. I almost had a meltdown this week but I found it really helpful to call my mom and just talk to her for a few minutes. She really calmed me down and settled my nerves. Also, writing down what you need to do before the test really helps as well. Seeing what you need to do visually can really help calm you down and you can check things off as you finish them as well. Most of all, just remember to breathe and that things will get better soon!

5.    Learn. Like me, your test may not go the way you would have liked it to no matter how long you study. I took a practice test for my exam 100 times (this is no exaggeration… it was 103 actually.) I felt really good going into the test and when I was done, I wasn’t so sure anymore. However, there is nothing you can really do at that point. I got my score back and didn’t do as well as I had hoped. (So this is why this class is the 2nd most failed class offered here…) I was disappointed and at first, very angry. However, I decided that there was nothing I could do about it. I worked as hard as I could in order to prepare for it so I did the best I could. I chose to learn from my experiences and prepare to study differently for my next exam. Hopefully, I will do much better for the next one!


Good luck to everyone with exams soon or in the future! Just try to remember these tips and also, make your own. Some of these may not work for you and others may work great! You know your strengths so apply them to your work and you will do amazing things!

Ali Houser is a college freshman at The University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota majoring in Dental Hygiene. Originally from Beresford, South Dakota, Ali was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of South Dakota for 2012. Learn more about Ali here!