By Alex Cooper
As I approach graduation in less than three weeks, I have been reminiscing about all of the wonderful professors, student organizations, professional events, and opportunities for learning that Loyola Marymount University has given me. Through all of my experiences at LMU I have had interesting articles and news stories fed to me through assigned readings and lively class discussions. These past four years have made me much more aware and connected to a multitude of trending topics both within my major and outside of it. For this I am forever grateful and cannot thank my professors enough! The time has finally come for me to step into the world of being a true adult and take responsibility to keep up with the news and current trends on my own! I have created a plan for myself (like I do for almost every task I have) to keep me connected to the happenings outside of my bubble.
- While I am lazily laying in bed and contemplating staying under the warm blankets for much longer than I should, I plan to make this time more productive than scrolling on Pinterest looking at DIY ideas I will never actually do. Instead I plan to (realistically in addition to perusing Pinterest) read at least on article on my news app. Truthfully, I currently do not look at any of my news apps daily or even weekly so incorporating this into my daily habits, with the help of notification reminders, will make me a much more informed individual.
- After I somehow drag myself out of bed and am sleepily drinking my morning coffee, I plan to use this time to stay up to date on business related topics. I plan to read at least one Harvard Business Review article during this time to get my brain in a business mindset before arriving at work.
- This plan would not be complete without mentioning the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and their articles that have provided me with exceptional information over the past four years. In order to stay up to date on my own field I plan to read at least one article that is relevant to a current project I am working on. I am excited to begin my career in HR and can’t wait to learn practical advice I can implement immediately!
- On my hopefully not too long drive home I will listen to a podcast called In the Dark. This investigative journaling podcast is intriguing and raises questions about the justice system in the United States, a topic I have had an increasing interest in.
- While unwinding each night I will watch the Daily Show to keep updated with political news and laugh at some of the witty jokes. Taking time to do what I enjoy is important to me and the Daily Show allows me to not only watch something I genuinely enjoy, but also stay updated on events around the world.
I will end my plan with a quote by Stephen Covey to remind myself to always listen to the full story and not pass any judgment before hearing the full story. The quote reads “The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”