Everyone has learning experiences freshman year of college. We learn to stay away from the Jungle Juice if we want to keep our heads out of toilets and trash cans, we learn that skipping class can only lead to slipping GPAs, and most importantly, we hope to learn what we want to do with our lives. Some of us go into college with our careers already laid out, and every step of the way planned. Those lucky few dash through advisor meetings in less than five minutes, their transcript following their 4 year plan to a tee.

And then there is me.

My transcript veers through the course catalog like a tiny geriatric attempting to ferry her car through a Wal-Mart parking lot. My long-suffering advisor looks at my transcript and schedules another thirty minutes for our meeting. My major first changed at Orientation after I took one look at the sample Political Science schedule and saw “Microeconomics” shamelessly emblazoned upon it. I’m a flake when it comes to big decisions like this, and it shows in my spotty track record with trying to pick a major. If there was a Indecisive Majors Anonymous, I’d be a repeat attender.

I’m commitment phobic when it comes to my major. By the time the honeymoon is over, usually after two or three months, I’m flirting shamelessly with unrelated courses. Already, I’ve split with Political Science and Biology. I was with Undecided for an extremely brief period, namely the two minutes it took to leave my Biology advisor’s bizarrely elephant-themed office and walk to the Undecided office, at which point I begged Poli Sci to take me back.

Now, four or five months later, I’m a Political Science major with a wandering eye. I like to blame my friend K., whose switching majors to become an event planner catalyzed the current indecision I’m mired in. Like any habitual flake, I see greener grass everywhere else, and now I’m caught in the place where “Fun” meets “Functional.”  A fun major is something like journalism, which I’d really love to do. I still daydream about a journalistic future in the land of “what if” (which is a neighboring land to the land of joblessness). A functional major is Political Science, which actually has jobs available after graduation. Plus, with the economy where it is now, people no longer say “You should study what appeals to you” when you mention your tentative major. Nobody can afford to anymore.

So I’ve decided to at least wait another semester before I decide to make another switch in majors. Political Science is the safe bet, and the introductory classes are rumored to be designed to weed out the flaky (i.e. me in Biology). A little extra time will allow me the chance to find out if I’m truly afraid of “major” commitment, or if this major decision is actually right for me.

What do you think? Is your major for love, or money?

I don’t know about you gals, but there’s something about shopping that always puts me in a better mood when I’m down in the dumps.  This is especially true when I’m PMSing–buying myself new, pretty and sparkly things makes me feel so much better about myself (even if trying things on over my bloated ass does not).  Now there’s proof that there may actually be a biological reason for why shopping makes us so happy.

A new study says that women are more likely to go on a shopping spree about 10 days before their period, on which they actually tend to spend more than usual and are more inclined towards making impulse purchases. (Editor’s Note: that explains the Snuggie….) GREAT — as if we needed yet another way PMS ruins our lives.

The psychologists who conducted the survey had two theories as to why this is the case.  First, they believe that women shop right before getting their periods in order to counteract the negative emotions they feel during that time (like feeling stressed out or depressed). Um, duh!

The other theory is that since this is time in a woman’s cycle that she’s ovulating, women buy things to make themselves more attractive, such as makeup or high heels. Tru dat.

While it may be tempting to use the “But I had PMS!” excuse when explaining the credit card bills to mom and dad, resist the urge. The study also revealed that most purchases made during this time were followed by serious buyer’s remorse. Your best bet is to wait out the PMS in bed with a bucket of cookie dough instead of at the mall; an empty bank account (and a freaking Snuggie) is no way to beat those pre-menstrual blues.

Wait, what? Isn’t obesity a major health concern?

Actually, the New York Times reports that “despite concerns about an obesity epidemic, there is growing evidence that our obsession about weight as a primary measure of health may be misguided.”

It seems that medical research is taking a different path down the road of health, obesity, and weight loss studies. In fact, the Archives of Internal Medicine, as referenced in the Times suggests that half of overweight people and one third of obese people are actually “metabolically healthy.”

America’s obsession with beauty and looks has long stereotyped overweight people in a negative light. However, studies such as those mentioned above are proving that in many cases, thin or underweight people are in poorer health than those with a few excess pounds. The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted fitness tests and observed mortality rates of their subjects, and discovered that “fitness level, regardless of body mass index, was the strongest predictor of mortality risk.” Therefore, skinny people blessed with a fast metabolism will still find working out to be advantageous to their health, and “big boned” individuals should not be written off as being “lazy” or “sluggish,” as stereotypes suggest.

While findings from studies covering moderate weight issues are drawing new lines between “healthy” and “unhealthy,” ironically, one of the world’s greatest medical mysteries remains the issue of morbid obesity. ABC News reports that the morbidly obese Manuel Uribe, the one-time world’s heaviest man who is now trying to break the world record for weight loss, is in good health despite his enormous weight.

“I have accumulated fat,” Manuel has stated (an understatement, in my opinion), “but I’m healthy. I don’t have sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, diabetes or high blood pressure. My heart works perfectly fine.”

Uribe’s doctor agrees and notes, “We don’t have an explanation.” This type of morbid obesity is extreme, but can be triggered by brain chemistry, genetic mutation, or a combination of psychological issues, which is why it is so baffling to doctors and scientists.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, anorexia nervosa can cause heart problems such as palpitations (or even failure), and bulimia nervosa can cause irregular heart beat or rupturing of the stomach, along with a slew of other complications.

The bottom line, according to University of South Carolina professor Stephen Blair, is that doctors should be talking to all patients about the value of physical activity, regardless of body size.

Blair raises an excellent question in the Times article:

“Why is it such a stretch of the imagination to consider that someone overweight or obese might actually be healthy and fit?”

But since I transferred after my freshman year, I lost a few credits. I still need to graduate in 2009; with the way tuition is, I can’t afford another semester or even another year. So since I was a little underweight in the distribution section, I decided to do what any smart, responsible college student would do; I signed up for summer classes.

Summer classes are no joke. They last just about a month, maybe a little bit longer. You’re learning things that are usually spread out throughout a semester, but crammed together into four weeks. It’s fast-paced, hectic, and time-consuming. It’s even harder if it’s a subject you’re not familiar with.

I’m taking Spanish 101 and 102 at my local community college to get my language requirement out of the way. Mind you, I’m already pretty well versed in Spanish. I took it for about ten years in baby steps. But now that it’s pretty much being crammed down my throat and even I’m having some difficulty.

If you’re taking summer classes, you can’t afford to be the slacker you might be tempted to be when those obscenely hot summer days roll around. You have to go to every class, because so much material is packed into one day that even that one absence can screw you over. You know that model student you promise you’re going to be in the beginning of the semester, but it eventually goes downhill? That’s the way you’ve gotta be during summer courses. Take notes, study, do all your homework, show up to every class, and ask questions. If you’re confused about something and you don’t take the chance to ask the professor right then, you’re pretty much screwed in terms of hoping it’s gonna come back up again to clarify itself. Trust me; it ain’t gonna happen.

The good thing about summer classes is that it’s over pretty quickly. Like I said, they range from about four to five weeks. After that, you never need to look at that Statistics or Baby Bio book again. They’re also pretty convenient; most colleges will readily let you transfer summer courses.

So if you’re lagging behind a bit in credits or just want to get that distribution out of the way, sign up for a summer course. It’s a little painful, but faster and even easier in the long run.

But damn if it isn’t mind over matter.

[Picture credit goes to: gettyimages.com]

I just read that a group of researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that people who walk, and move about more often, had the highest overall physical activity levels.

Before you say “duh”, it gets better. They also found that although the participants (men and women) who ran burned more calories, the moderate exercisers burned more calories overall.

In other words, in the 30 day study, the runners with their laced up, geared up sneaks laid around after they hit the road, and the moderate walkers bounced around a bit more post-workout.

Makes sense… I can recall many a post-job moment when all I did was grab a PB&J, hit the couch and watched Grey’s.

I’m glad I read this news, I was just starting to berate myself for choosing the stroll instead of the run. Also a side note for you… My Biology professor said that you burn very close to the same amount of calories whether you run or walk a mile. The difference is the after burn of a run is greater…it also perks up the ole’ metabolism.

But, hey, lets just keep walking for now.

Liberal Arts schools are famous for these types of classes. Being a graduate of a Liberal A. myself, I made sure to take every weird course I could find. Every class with a half-written syllabus, opened ended final, or that was team-taught—I took. And let me tell you, those were some of the best wasted hours of my college career.

Wesleyan, one of the “Most Annoying Liberal Arts Schools” out there, currently has one of the best examples of a weird course I’ve heard in a long time. The reason this example is so good? It’s explanation is as pretentious as it’s description is redonkulous.

Course Name: Feet to the Fire: the Art and Science of Climate Change

Category: Biology

Cross Listed With: Dance

Description: As quoted by Gawker, the first lines of the course description are as follows: “Feet to the Fire is an intensive, interdisciplinary course that melds scientific and choreographic inquiry in pursuit of one of the most important topics facing society: climate change due to global warming”

Class Layout: “Classroom and laboratory sessions”, with a neighboring landfill acting as said laboratory.

What Exactly is Going to Happen (in a really wordy way): “With an emphasis on the body and its relationship with its environment, participants will have an opportunity to consider the multiple layers of histories, time and memory layered within the landfill and the continuing impact of this changing environment on the body. Students will learn modern scientific and kinesthetic tools for assessing environmental conditions, ecological responses changing in time and space. The methods of scientific deduction and choreographic composition will be applied to metaphor and meaning of climate change.”

In Layman’s Terms: This class will focus on creating an interpretive dance that describes what it’s like to be a landfill and why global warming sucks.

…I mean, if this isn’t the best class ever, I don’t know what is.

Long after graduation, you’ll find yourself using some of the knowledge (hopefully, your major) everyday. Other courses will disappear from your mind as quickly as they appear.

For example, I now only think of the two required semesters of Western Civilization when Alex Trebek asks a question related to the Ottoman Empire.

A few classes outside my major, though, have yielded a value far beyond the tuition dollars paid for them. I advise any college student to find time to take five courses. Perhaps one or two will be required and one or two can fill elective options. Even if that’s not the case, don’t graduate without these on your transcript and in your head!

Speech Communications

When you ask people what scares them most, the most common answer is public speaking. This class may not completely cure a fear of public speaking, but it can give you the confidence you need to make a presentation in front of crowds. More than that, the class teaches how a good speech is organized. You’ll learn how to use humor (and when to avoid it) and how to keep an audience interested. Speech classes generally give plenty of practice in writing, researching and delivering speeches…all followed by valuable feedback.

Psychology

This one is obvious. Even though the first class is very basic, you’ll learn a lot about yourself, others and relationships. This class will improve your parenting skills, your skills as a spouse and give you a broader understanding of mankind.

Biology

Just as psychology provides an understanding of how the human mind works, biology provides a look into how the human body and other forms of life work. My instructor was great and I was in the class with a bunch of nursing students, so we really got deep in the subject. I learned the basics of nutrition, how my body works and how to tell when/what is wrong. (And the dissecting part isn’t but a day or two!)

Speed Reading

I actually was able to take this as an elective, but my cousin is now taking it as a non-credit course. She had to pay an extra $100, but it’s worth it. Take it early in your academic career and you’ll reap benefits in hours of time saved. It doesn’t matter what your major is…most of your junior and senior years will be spent reading. Speed reading offers practical skills that increase your reading speed while actually improving comprehension. So, it can actually help on exams like the LSAT and the GRE.

Journalism

Okay, everyone has to take English composition. In this class, you’ll learn how to write essays, the basics of grammar and how to document research. That’s all great, but basically you’ll learn how to write for college. Journalism teaches you how to write for life. You’ll learn the principles of good writing for after college, when you’re expected to produce reports, analysis and correspondence that others will want to read.

“Five Classes You Shouldn’t Leave College Without” was written by Amanda Cartwright. Her other works for AC Content Producers can he seen HERE.