--Original published at Jessica K's College Blog

Motivation can become one of the greatest driving-points in a person’s life, whether it is for a short-term or long-term goal that they may be facing in the future.

For the majority, one of many ideas that relate to motivation is a change in self, relative to weight control, health, beauty, , business in a job, or a boost in self-confidence; which can mostly be obtained by weeks or months of a set schedule. For the most part, the idea of getting used to a fixed schedule will deter most, but there will always be the sense of satisfaction that comes alongside the action when people finally get the result they aimed for.

If someone ever needs the motivation to get something done, the idea of “Everything will get better after this” or “You’ll be a better you” is what people need to understand if they want to get something satisfactory in the future, the simple act of believing in themselves.

--Original published at Alex's Thoughts

Elizabethtown College was not originally my first choice for going to college. But when I was comparing it with the other school I intended on attending, several reasons caused me to choose Etown.

The school I intended to go to at that point was not Elizabethtown. I was debating on going to a large state school that had accepted me into its honors program. It had a large alumni network, virtually unlimited resources, and a well-established program. However, something about Elizabethtown caused me to reconsider. When I toured Elizabethtown, I noticed that the students seemed to be generally more cheerful. I also got to meet my professors, whereas I didn’t even see an engineering professor at the school I was intending on going to at that point. The more I thought about it, the more I began to seriously reconsider going to the state school. On paper, it was the obvious choice in terms of resources and prestige. However, something about Elizabethtown drew me back to it every time. Two years later, I believe that I can finally put into words what I felt at that time.

The state school would have set me up for life. I would’ve met an employer at one of their job fairs, gotten a decent job by virtue of where I got my degree from instead of the quality of education, and lived out my life as a good alumnus. Easy as that. But I don’t want that. I want challenge, and the comfort that whatever job or employment I find is by virtue of whatever skills and relationships I cultivate. In other words, I was raised to expect nothing but a fair chance and to earn everything. I would not have felt that I was rightfully earning what I would have gotten at that state school, while Elizabethtown offered much more in terms of growing as a person.

Our department was not as large as that state school’s, nor does it have as many resources. However, I can be a contributing individual in the department. I can earn my own way by attending job fairs and win opportunities through the virtue of who I am, the different opportunities for growth I have been offered at Elizabethtown, and the secure education I have received with the classes I have taken. I am able to have a dual concentration in engineering, with some extra business classes thrown in. I would not have had nearly the amount of freedom to customize my degree at the state school that I do here. In other words, I would not have been able to tailor my education to what I truly want to do to nearly the same extent. I want a challenge in terms of receiving my education, as confining myself to the status quo would just be boring to a
mind-numbing extent. I can challenge myself and grow as an individual. This will ultimately give me more opportunities than anything I could have found at the state school. All by virtue of giving me more room to grow as an individual engineer instead of being confined to a single, set concentration.

What motivates me to succeed at Elizabethtown are a few simple things. The first and most prevalent is that I simply cannot succeed the way I want to in any discipline besides engineering and the art of industry. I do not have the patience or composure to deal with customers for a prolonged amount of time, and I do not have any interest in pursuing fields outside of science and mathematics professionally. I also do not have much patience for abstract reasoning, so sciences and mathematics that do not correlate to real-world solutions are not my forte either. I have always been fascinated by machines and factories, so my only course for making a living would appear to be involving myself in industry. The second reason is to be able to provide for myself and my family. Engineering is a very lucrative field, and extremely adaptable in terms of location. This is a good thing, as I would like to eventually have a family in a location of my choosing. Being able to afford to live there while working at a job I enjoy is all I want. The third thing that motivates me to succeed is a sense of pride. I have already started down the track I wish, and nothing short of a disaster will stop me from trying my best to succeed on my given track.

As for an intervention, I typically drive to the area I am originally from whenever I need more motivation to succeed in my classes. I am not far away, and I grew up in an economically depressed area. Offshoring and the decline of American manufacturing hit my home area hard, and it shows. Whenever I need motivation to succeed, I drive through my home area, and look at the abandoned factories, the rusty machines, the polluted rivers, and the mountains that seem more like walls. As an engineer and a professional, it is my duty to succeed such that I may bring prosperity into areas such as this. While people older than I am took opportunity from the Rust Belt in favor of cutting costs, my ultimate goal is to bring opportunity back. It is a dream of mine to be able to imagine industry in place of rot, fish in place of pollutants, and an overall sense of well-being in place of the grey skies of my homeland. Whenever I lose motivation, I dream of my homeland, and hope that I may do something to ensure its future prosperity.

--Original published at Nick's Blog

Option 2: Motivation

I originally came to Elizabethtown College mainly because I liked the campus more than other colleges that I had toured. The other real reason was that my first choice college didn’t give me enough off tuition to make it affordable, and Elizabethtown was my second choice. I have come to really like the Elizabethtown college campus and want to continue here for all four years. So while Elizabethtown might have not been my original choice, it has since become the college that I like the most.

In my classes currently I motivate myself by telling myself that college is the only real way that I can succeed the way I want to in life and that I need to maintain grades to keep on that path. My only plans right now involve finishing college then getting a job in the field that I majored in. If I can’t achieve that then I wouldn’t have achieved my dreams in any way. Everything hinges upon these next four years and I need to stay focused on making sure my grades stay at least mostly good.

The only real intervention for giving me more motivation I could think of would be a glimpse at failure. That would continually motivate me because above all, I can’t fail. Everything I have right now relies on my continued grades and I cannot even picture a scenario without them. Beyond that there isn’t much right now that would motivate me to do well in classes.

At the end of the day, that is all that really motivates me at this time, the fear of failure.

--Original published at Ariana's Blog

I chose to come to Elizabethtown College for many reasons. One is that the college offered the program I wanted in order to become an Occupational Therapist. I also was looking for a small school that felt like home and E-town felt like that. I also really enjoy having a good relationship with my teachers and I am grateful to not just be a number in a classroom. I also wanted to be away from home but close enough that I could go home when I needed to and E-town was the perfect distance.

My motivation for doing well in school is knowing that it will ultimately get me into my career and doing something I love. I have always been motivated to do well; I just care about my grades. I think seeing a C or lower motivates me to try harder, but I have never been one to not do my work or not study. When I study, I expect my hard work to pay off on the exam and if not, that means that I need to change my habits and try harder to get the grade up.

An intervention I can use until I graduate is to make a list. I am one of those people who loves crossing things off a list and I hate having things on my lists. When I have stuff to do, but I don’t feel like doing it, I can make a list for myself. This will increase my motivation to get those things crossed off the list. I also need to remind myself why I need to work hard and that these classes are only for a short amount of time, so I put the hard work in and then it’s done.

--Original published at Jill Distler's Psychology Blog

America is facing many health concerns within its population, obesity being the most concerning, in my opinion after parents and people who choose not to vaccinate. I also believe that those who are facing mental illness and are not seeking treatment is among other great concerns. I feel that only a portion of this criterion is enough to define the boundary between having a mental disorder and if a person is truly eating healthy. As someone who lives with a “gym rat” type parent, I can say that my mother fits the first criterion very closely. I would not call my mother someone with a mental disorder though, I just think she enjoys eating mostly salads so that she can compare the size of her arms to my boyfriend’s, and most of the time he wins but she brags about her veins “popping” more. I think that the criterion coming from this source has good intentions, but I feel that there is room for more definition throughout this website. Although this site chooses to include an excerpt from an original published article about Orthorexia Nervosa, I think an overall summary of the published science would have made me understand more deeply how one can determine if they are suffering from a behavioral disorder or if they are truly just trying to be healthy and prolong their lifespan. 

--Original published at Emily's college blog

In my opinion, the criteria for orthorexia in criterion A does not set a good boundary for mental illness or healthy eating because there is no time frame to define when this would be normal or out of control.  For example, if someone is insecure about their weight or health and they undergo a cleansing diet for a few weeks or a month, there is a possibility that after changing drastically from an unhealthy diet to a cleansing diet, the symptoms noted in criterion A are likely to come up.  However, if someone continues to feel these obsessive compulsives and anxiety from eating, there is a possibility for a mental illness diagnosis.  The people who wrote the concepts for criteria A should include a time frame for when the anxious feelings actually turn into a serious mental illness.  I believe that if these thoughts and beliefs cause a weight loss and continue to escalate in six months to a year, there should be a check up for orthorexia.

In Criterion B, I think the criteria listed are acceptable to distinguish the boundary between orthorexia and healthy eating.  Someone who is malnourished from severe weight loss would have started struggling with the compulsive behaviors and mental complications for a long period of time and should cause serious concern, especially if these actions are caused by a lack of body image, self-worth, identity, or satisfaction.  I believe that in order to diagnose someone with orthorexia, these criteria have to be met.  

--Original published at JanellesCollegeBlog

One of the largest reasons I chose Elizabethtown College was for my major. Occupational therapy is offered at a small number of colleges in Pennsylvania, all of which are private. Elizabethtown College’s occupational therapy program has a very good reputation. Another reason I chose Elizabethtown was because of the size of the college which creates a sense of community on campus. When I came to campus for tours I observed how many people the tour guides knew on campus. I also noticed how they interacted with professors. Even though student relationships with professors are professional, it was evident here professors truly care about how their students do. Another reason I chose Elizabethtown was the opportunity to continue playing field hockey. My college decision was not easy, but I am very happy with the choice I made.

One of the biggest motivations for me to do well in my classes is I am extremely excited for my future career. When I look to the future and what I will get to do, this makes it easier for me to work harder in my classes. I know if I am successful throughout my time at Elizabethtown it will make it easier for me to do well in the future when I am looking for a job.

To maintain this motivation until graduation I will look back to the adversity I have overcome to that point. During my first semester I took one of the most challenging classes in college, biology. After getting through biology, I believe I can make it through any class if I have the correct mindset and work ethic. I will also tell myself when my motivation runs low I am doing this to be successful in my future and obtain a job in a field I am very passionate about.