Do you strive for perfection in everything you do for class? Striving for perfect can get in the way of getting things done. Sometimes we fall into the "all or nothing" trap where we aim for perfectionism and if we slide just a little, we give up. So if we can't read every page of the assigned work in a class, we read nothing. Other times, we fall into the 80-20 trap. We spend 80% of our time making the first 20% of a task perfect and we rush through the remaining 80% of the task in 20% of the time. Hence, we get a perfect score on the first 20% of the exam, but only a 50% on the last 80%. Or, we have a great introduction to our paper and not much else. Our desire for perfection keeps us from making smart decisions on how to spend our time.

You can conquer your perfectionism by

• Doing a brain dump. Write the first draft of a paper without paying attention to grammar, organization, style or spelling. Just get some thoughts down on paper. Don't rewrite a single sentence until you've gotten a complete first draft no matter how terrible it might be. The goal is to outwit the perfectionist editor in your head.

• Polish last. Work on the big things first and polish later. Get the general form of the assignment done first. Figure out the big picture first and then fill in the details. On an exam, set up all the problems first and then work out the details.

• Embrace the struggle. As Doug Stone and Elizabeth Tippett write in Real College, "Being good at college means being okay with the feeling of not quite understanding something. It's fine to be obsessed with mastering a concept, but don't let that obsession get in the way of moving on to the next concept, and the next. Some things are learnable on the first pass through, and some aren't. Sometimes, what you're learning is the process of learning itself--how to ask the right questions and how to live with uncertainty. There will be times when it's best to think to yourself, 'I sort of understand this, I've put in a reasonable amount of time on it and done my best, and now it's time to work on something else.'"

Making an informed decision about drinking is a matter of personal responsibility. That decision, however, is often influenced by an individual's perception of others. The National College Health Assessment, which was administered to over 1,100 Truman students last spring, demonstrated a 'disconnect' between the reality of student drinking on Truman's campus and the perception of how prevalent drinking is on this campus.

The survey demonstrated that 35% of the students surveyed had either not used alcohol at all or on more than 1-2 days in the past 30 days. On the other hand, when students were questioned regarding what they thought the pattern of use was for their fellow students, over 72% believed that the typical student drank more frequently than that.

Other good news from the survey is that 98.5% of Truman students reported using some protective factor to minimize their drinking risks when they did choose to drink. Some of these risk reducers included: using a designated driver, avoiding drinking games, pacing drinking to one or fewer drinks per hour, determining in advance not to exceed a set number of drinks, and alternating non-alcoholic with alcoholic beverages.

Many students report that an internship was one of the most meaningful things they did in college. An internship gives you a taste of the working world and allows you to clarify your educational and career goals; to see the relevance of your classroom experiences; to develop your skills, knowledge, and vocabulary specific to a field of interest; and to increase your marketability and earning potential. The Career Center in the McKinney Center can provide you with more information on internships. Check out their website at http://career.truman.edu/student/internship/. If you plan your time at Truman carefully, you can fit in an internship and graduate in a timely matter. You also want to be aware of the following special internship opportunities for Truman students so that you can plan time for them:

• The Missouri Government Internship Program offers a unique opportunity for junior or senior students to intern with a legislator, public official, or state agency. The program provides interested students an inside look at state government and the political process. The experience has special appeal for students anticipating careers in business, law, public relations, government service or public affairs, but is filled with opportunities for a variety of career fields. Students wishing to participate in the Missouri Government Internship Program should possess a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit, cumulative GPA of at least 2.75, and divisional approval. No special coursework is required prior to the internship. For more information consult http://career.truman.edu/student/internship/mogov_brochure.htm.

• The Truman in Washington Program provides opportunities for students to intern in Washington, D.C. For more information, email Dr. Diane Tobin-Johnson at djohnson@truman.edu.
• Harry S. Truman Library and Museum Internships are available to Truman juniors and seniors in a variety of areas including, but not limited to: archives, public relations, marketing, educational programming, and visitor services. For more information consult http://career.truman.edu/student/library.asp.

Quote of the Week

--John Ashcroft from a letter to President Dixon on the occasion of the 20th

anniversary of the University's mission change and

the 10th anniversary of the name change.