Full Circle Part 12/12: Encore
College is pretty much over.
Orders for caps and gowns are in, and dates are set to walk across the stage and receive our diploma. It’s hard to believe in just five weeks we’ll leave our respective campuses and enter the “real world”. All of the things we’ve done and haven’t done in the last four years float to the surface - what do we have left to accomplish?
Rather than using this 12th edition to dive into a new topic, we feel it would be better used distilling our clearest takeaways from these newsletters and our writing overall:
Doing what works best for you is the key to Note Taking. Make sure to try new methods and strategies as trends come and go, but at the end of the day, finding your own groove is all that matters. If you ask us, nothing beats old fashioned pen and paper.
College is the time to build and iterate upon habits related to Time Management. These routines will pay dividends throughout your career, but require constant iteration and improvement. It is not a matter of the number of tactics you incorporate into your life, but more so discipline.
We wish we had a crystal ball, but we don’t. What we are certain of, is that Artificial Intelligence tools should enhance your learning and productivity, not replace your critical thinking. Be weary of overreliance on new tools and the impact that they may have on your education, formal and otherwise.
There is no better way to push yourself than taking direct action. Discomfort-Driven Growth is appreciating abrupt changes in your life, and celebrating them. College is often viewed as a time for intense calculation around your next move, but we’d argue taking any action at all is more important. Remember the peaks and valleys: after every Peak comes a Valley, and after every Valley comes a Peak.
Your brain can only handle a finite amount of information. Just like the food you consume, make sure that your Media Diet is balanced. Build reliable streams of information, and don’t tune out locally for the sake of what’s going on halfway across the world. Try to challenge yourself by reading and learning from sources you wouldn’t typically frequent. It would do us all better to learn more from people dissimilar from us.
Your four years in college are all about building your Personal Brand. It is made up of the countless small interactions you have throughout college. Like many of the topics we covered, nothing exists until you create it. Yes, it can be embarrassing to put yourself out there, but the value it will provide when it comes to getting internships and eventually a full-time job far outweighs any of the costs.
Quality habits and thoughtful strategy are the foundation of Effective Studying. To excel academically, create an optimal environment, implement structured planning, and incorporate regular breaks to prevent burnout. Focus your energy on elements within your control. Own what you have to do and put your best foot forward. You never want to look back feeling you could have done something differently.
Financial Management in college balances mindfulness with enjoyment - tracking spending without obsessing over every dollar. Good budgeting focuses on "smiles per dollar" rather than strict frugality. Building credit early, cooking at home, and utilizing student discounts create financial habits that last beyond graduation, while still prioritizing the experiences that make college memorable.
Setting goals and sticking with them are the core of Sustaining Success. Set big ones, and don’t be afraid to chase your dreams - there’s no better time than the present.
In your classes, Group Projects are a chance to develop real skills through collaboration with your peers. It’s important to take responsibility for your own work, while also relying on your teammates. Success requires establishing clear expectations, direct communication, and investing in collective outcomes.
During college you learn to Keep Your Head on Straight by balancing social connections, consistent physical activity, and personal recharging rituals. Make sure to accept both the highs and the lows rather than comparing yourself to others or obsessing over “fixing” your mental state. Practices that go far beyond college are ingrained during these formative years.
For us, the lessons around this newsletter were related to writing:
Sam: Jon and I chose to start this newsletter because we felt we had something to offer. Back in December, during a usual catch-up call, a mutual connection independently recommended newsletter writing to each of us within the same week. As soon as it came up, we immediately had the same thought: "Why not try it together?"
As a writer, I've grown in numerous ways. From the behind-the-scenes research to carefully crafting the order of the topics to flow with the semester, this project has been a more positive outlet than I could've imagined.
We've mentioned it before, but one of the most important things when ideating was to just start writing. We set our goal at 12 letters and began. For us, that meant jumping into writing Edition 1 on our second call before we even had a name or a place to post.
I think our biggest growth came from our cohesiveness as a unit. Hopefully, you couldn't distinguish who wrote what, and as our writing styles improved and we began to anticipate each other's edits, this only became more of a strength. We quickly learned to rely on each other and incorporate the best parts of both our ideas.
As far as college goes, it's no secret my time is coming to a close - 33 days exactly by the time this is released.
Oftentimes it's difficult to reflect on something until it's complete. The best magic tricks reveal themselves in stages - pledge, turn, and prestige - and college follows a similar path. This newsletter has allowed me to appreciate all three stages at once, giving more life to this semester than I thought possible and helping me make the most of my final months in college. Without this reflection, I'd likely be sitting here thinking, "Why didn't I do more?" Instead, I've been able to take advantage of not just the final weeks but an entire semester.
As the curtains begin to close on this chapter, I can confidently say that I made the most of it. I had more failures and laughs than I can remember, but I'm proud to say I embraced the college experience fully.
And I am extremely proud of this newsletter as my final trick.
When people say college is the best time of your life, they're telling the truth. If you're a young college student who somehow stumbled upon this newsletter, I'd tell you this:
"Try your very best to do something new every day. Whether that means meeting someone new, watching a new movie, playing a new board game, or trying a new food, do something that makes each day unique. The months and semesters will fly, but making each day special keeps the magic."
Jon: Prior to this newsletter I couldn’t tell you three things I’d written about outside of assignments. After hatching this idea with Sam, the idea was cool, but why was I qualified to speak on it? Instead of backing down, and allowing myself to come up with an excuse, I just went for it.
I won’t say I’m a great writer, and you could probably point out numerous grammatical errors in my writing throughout this newsletter. But now it exists, and it’s out there.
One recurring theme throughout our newsletters was that good habits, routines, and even networks don’t appear out of thin air. In January, the idea of writing twelve newsletters was daunting; what did I have to say? 15,000 words later it exists, and whether it’s the best writing out there or not, I can say I’ve done it.
Writing as an assignment for class is far different than writing because you want to. With this newsletter there was no submitting an outline, finding a minimum number of references, or a specific direction we had to take each week.
Beyond this I’ve realized the importance of having someone you’re accountable to in almost anything you’re doing. Keeping a consistent 9:00 am release every Monday combats my goal to have the most insane weekend every single week (awesome I know). Working through each newsletter proactively, brainstorming, and just getting it done have taught me a lot about the way I work and how I can be more effective in the future.
This last semester could have been filled with bumming around wallowing in the idea that I’d be leaving soon. Instead, because I chose to say “yes let’s do it” when Sam asked if we should write this, I have concrete written reflections of my time in college. The lesson from this? Whatever it is, just go for it.
If you’ve been following along weekly as each edition came out, thank you! We have a small but mighty list of subscribers and are thankful to each and every one of you!
On the other hand, one thing that was important to us was the ability of this written work to stand the test of time and exist beyond. Maybe you’re a student struggling with time management or note taking, we hope that if you stumble upon this it serves as a valuable resource.
In addition, we did our best to leave things open ended. We genuinely don’t know where the world of AI is heading and wanted to make that clear while also backing our predictions with facts.
Upon graduation, Jon will be heading to NYC to start a role in digital media strategy at WITHIN, and Sam will be moving to Cincinnati to start a role in Corporate Finance at Procter & Gamble.
Once again, we couldn’t be more grateful for your support!
Thanks,
Jon Schoelkopf and Sam Fabricant