Adam Binkley, Senior Coordinator, Center for Academic Success

Regardless of what seasonal traditions you and yours choose to celebrate as a holiday, a theme of thankfulness arises this time of year. We are thankful for our friends and family, our communities, the support and resources that empower us to be successful.

Hi, my name is Adam Binkley, and I am the senior coordinator at the Center for Academic Success (CAS). Around USG, I’ve noticed another theme that emerges: busy-ness. To borrow from Rihanna, it’s a time of “work, work, work, work, work, work” (there’s six works in that song, right?).  Final papers and exams. Projects and presentations. Cramming before cranberries, writing before wrapping — putting in the time and energy to get to that finish line.

And trust me, finish line fatigue is real. Honestly, a lot of y’all look miserable out there. So I’m here to pump you up with a simple reminder: it’s okay to be grateful for your grind.

Yes, I’m talking to you – the you spending your lunch break breaking down accounting problem sets and you over there in the library, writing lesson plans instead of weekend plans. You’re at USG so often that we’ve started getting your mail. You’ve got white board markers in your pockets, glove box, sock drawer, and cookie jar. After practicum, field placement and work you are back in that empty classroom — laptop with less battery life than your cellphone — swimming in a sea of note cards.

We see you. Humble is a word that describes you but so is another “H” word —“Hungry.”

Power point is your new spirit animal. You see APA like John Wall sees a fast break. In the parking lot, while the kids are at practice, you’re practicing exam questions. When you walk into Starbucks, your name is already on the cup and spelled correctly — you need fuel. Like Batman and infomercials, you are no stranger to 3:00am. The food on your Instagram has, by now, expired and made way for the most used app on your cellphone — USG Mobile.

You’ve put the haters that would doubt you on your academic naughty list, right next to the person who took up two spaces in the parking garage and those folks who are talking during class (zip it!).

If you are reading this, and any of it sounds familiar, I want you to hold your hand up and accept the metaphorical high five I’m giving you. Yes, life as a student can be a grind. But the resilience, persistence, and work ethic that comes out of it is a gift.

So take a little time to be grateful for it. Appreciate your bad self. At USG, we appreciate you and all of the work (work, work, work, work, work) you do. So instead of happy holidays, let me wish you fruitful finals. May all of your hard work shine through.

Speaking of letting you shine through, I’d also like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in the Blackout poetry event happening now! An end of the semester collaboration by the Priddy Library and CAS, Blackout poetry will allow you to de-stress and create unique works of art from found material. There will be a Blackout poetry creation table from November 27^th  through December 8^th. As an added bonus, we are also featuring an International Poetry Workshop on December 4^th and 5^th, and a Poetry Slam to cap things off on the 6^th.

I look forward to creating with you!