Your Mirror of Erised.

Endings often prompt reflections and memories. Endings also fortell beginnings. This time on the calendar contains a classic time-honored ending as recognized by New Years Eve. All prepratory to the beginning of another year, honored by New Years Day.

Some time back you may have followed the story of Harry Potter. Harry has been kind of hard to avoid him being all over the place for the last ten or fifteen years. The story's devotees can continue to site, quote, relate, and re-tell their favorite or most memorable events, incidents and characters from the wizard-in-training's progress.

Planet College recognizes one potentially useful tool from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Mirror of Erised. Those with a penchant for word games and such quickly recognized "erised" as "desire" spelled backwards, a mirror of desire . Those who gazed into The Mirror of Erised saw what they desired for themselves. Harry saw his parents who had been killed. Other characters saw what they most desired in this clever object in this entertaining tale.

Planet College brings this Mirror to your attention to point out that you to have such a device. It is most probably in your bathroom. That mirror, right there can become your own Mirror of Erised. Right now, at this time of ending and beginning take time to look into your own mirror. Then ask, "Am I becoming what I desire?" Only you can answer, only you will know. Well, are you?

Have an interesting and productive 2012.

End Of The Year So Let's Talk About Those Loans And That Business You Were Going To Start After You Got Your Degree Except Now - Well Just Read This.

Here's One for the end of the calendar year. Loan help. This is from the Small Business Administration's web site. The Small Business administration is a federal agency which is dedicated to helping - and I bet you saw this coming - small business. Below is part of what they said about you starting your own business. IBR means income based repayment. It's for students who have a large loan obligation and a small income. That means just about every one and certainly you. You can read more about it here.

Student Startup Plan

Is student loan debt stopping you from starting your own business? The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan can help.

Income-Based Repayment is an existing payment option for Federal student loans. The Income-Based Repayment Plan supports young college grads, including those looking to start a business, join a startup, or work in a public service job by making Federal student loan repayment manageable. It can help you keep your loan payments affordable by using a sliding scale to determine how much you can afford to pay on your Federal loans—empowering you to take risks with new opportunities.

Re-do the Math.

Many, many students on Planet College come to campus fully equipped with extreme math phobia. " I will do anything to get out of taking a math class." they say. Unfortunately, for most programs on most campuses math is some where along the way required. Thus, conflict. But this conflict need not become a crisis.

The initial fear of math probably came from the traditional way most students are educated. The USA has had the policy for more than a century and a half of educating everyone. This involves classrooms filled with students learning or trying to learn the subjects which are presented. But not everyone learns at the same rate. Mathematical ineptitude which leads to math phobia is usually the result of a students inability to absorb and perform at the expected rate. That means you took a long time to do arithmetic. However, there was not a long time to do arithmetic so you didn't get very far. Thus you became 'bad' at math. Bad because you were 'slow' at math.

Now, on Planet College there may be solutions to your dilemma. Most campuses offer help to their learning 'challenged' students. If you are a student who characterizes your self as 'bad' at math find help. There is some. Math departments have tutors, so do campus learning centers. Some schools have programs including alternate courses for the 'math challenged.'

If you are on Planet College you are here to learn. One thing students often need to learn is to ask for help. So, do so. Find the tutor, find the program, ask for extra time to do the tests in your required math class. It is time to change your attitude and re-do the math.