Use Your Resources

Resources are literally everywhere, although it’s easier now than ever to get lost in the nonsense of things due to the endless material made available through the Internet. However, there’s more to life than Facebook, News, TV, and the local newspaper. When was the last time that you actually learned something or changed your political ideas because of someone’s post on Facebook? Life is really dull if we’re not engaged in what we love.

Resources have always been there, and it’s a shame to take them for granted. When I was younger, I went to the library often. I did spend a lot of time just borrowing CDs and listening to them, but that was important for my growth, too. Libraries are amazing places, but what’s even greater is being able to have most of those resources digitally available now. I’ve “rented” books from the library on my electronic kindle reader and I’m sure the accessibility will only continue to grow.

When I was in college, I spent a couple hours a day at the student resource center. The staff there probably thought I was half crazy but I had a dream, and that resource center was my ticket to accomplishing it. The student center had many brochures on learning abroad or participating in a nation-wide students exchange.

After my continued persistence, I got accepted to spend my senior year in Hawaii. On top of that, I didn’t have to write the required thesis report due at my home campus, and I received Hawaii’s in-state tuition, which was lower than my home campus’ tuition in Minnesota. My friends were shocked that was all even possible.

You never know what’s out there unless if you look. Also, since there is so much clutter out there, your need to almost be hyper-focused on what you want so that you don’t get lost from website to website and wind up no further informed than when you had started.

I love Quota – it’s an online community in which people ask questions and others answer them. I’ve seen websites like this, such as “Yahoo Answers” but somehow the quality and standard of the answers on Quora have been consistently higher than other sites I’ve visited - even on somewhat silly questions. It’s a better way to “kill” time and stimulate your brain at the same time. Many social platforms these days usually end up with arguments, personal political agendas, sports clips, and generally just brain-drain material.

Quality resources are readily available, but it’s easy to get lost in it without a clear vision of what you want to know. Learning used to be a burden when I was younger, simply because I had to learn things I didn’t care for. These days, I couldn’t be happier to expand my mind, understand new concepts, and contribute back to the community. Knowledge is more valuable that gold – however, you have to apply it.

For further related material, please check out: Work – Blessing or Curse?