S.i.m.p.l.i.f.yHolding On To ALong-Distance Relationship P.18

Volume 1 | May 2012

Quick Fix for Insomnia P.12

Rethink Procrastination P.6

Top 10 Reported Dreams P.14

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What’s inside...

Simplify.com

Editor in ChiefAnila Muskaj

PublisherAnila Muskaj

Contributing Photographers Elona BushiGledisa Dalipi

Design Consultant Xiaopeng Wang

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Simplify is a magazine cre-ated for a magazine design and production course by an undergraduate student majoring in Mass Commu-nications at USF St. Pe-tersburg. Photos may not be used without permis-sion. Contact Simplify for questions or comments.

Long-Distance Relationships

Procrastination Insomnia

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy chocolate.

That’s pretty much the same thing.

My Moment. My Dove. DOVE® Chocolate

Letter from the editor

Hello readers! Welcome to Simplify. School

may be out, but the brain doesn’t just stop working over the summer. The mind is a beautiful and powerful tool.

Psychology is a field that highly interests me, so I decided to create a maga-zine based on it. I believe in the power of thoughts. They shape the way we view eve-rything around us. Life can simplified if we understand our own thought process so that we can change it when needed.

I want this magazine to be a stress relief tool for female college students. I came into this class without any design experience, so I am proud to have been able to put together a magazine by the end of the semester.

There’s always room for improvement, but this is a good start for a novice designer like me. The de-sign process and story ideas flowed after I finally decided on a name (it was like de-ciding on a name for a first-born child).

Sneak peek into next month’s issue:

Shift your view of beauty.

Simplify is proud to take part in the project seek-ing to raise awareness for alopecia, a hair loss condition without a known cause. Photos and real life stories from the ex-hibition by Daniel Regan and Agato Cardoso will be feautred.

Event is: May 14-20

”“

–Emily Dickinson

The brain is wider than the sky

ActivePassive

vs.

6

Active procrastinators:• Prefer the time pressure and purposely decide to delay a task.

• Complete tasks before deadlines and achieve satisfactory outcomes.

Passive procrastinators:

• Postpone a task until the

last minute due to an in-

ability to act in a timely

manner.

6

Whether it’s going shop-ping, logging into

facebook or doing some-thing that would normally seem unpleasant such as getting the laundry done, procrastination can easily be developed.

Students have more dif-ficulty in keeping their focus with more prevalent distrac-tions through the Internet.

In the active phase, stud-ies from The Journal of Psy-chology have determined that procrastinators are just as successful in completing tasks on time.

This study took 230 under-grads students and moni-

tored how they studied for exams and handled home-work. The majority of the students were women.

From the 72.2 % of college female students part of the study, those who chose an active stress-coping stragegy for procrastination were also those who thought of them-selves as working well under pressure.

According to Dr. Bill Knaus, Ed. D. in Science and Sensi-bility, for those who are part of the passive group, there are easy steps to follow.

Just as with recovering from a form of addiction, be-ing aware is key in order to

make any changes.This isn’t to say that being

a procrastinator is the goal. Although more than 50% of

Rethinking Procrastination 7

Relax. Procrastination is OK

Stress-Coping Strategy

• Task-Oriented Focuses on problem that is considered to be immediate.

• Emotion-Oriented Diminishing emotion-ally induced stress

• Avoidance-Oriented Ignoring a problem alltogether

Story & photos by: Anila Muskaj

American college students procrastinate consistently, It can be agreed on that completing tasks in a timely fashion is best and a healthi-er approach.

However, when mak-ing changes, they need to be assertive. Realistic goals need to be implemented.

The student has to ask the question of what exactly he or she wants to accomplish on that given day.

Why change your ways?In a study performed by

Florida State University psy-

chologists Dianne M. Tice, PhD, and Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, procrastination proved to have health effects among the 44 students en-rolled in a health psychology class who chose to partici-pate.

Although those who in-tentionally delayed tasks in

the beginning of the se-mester showed lower stress and illness, by the end of the semester, the data was reversed in favor of the non-procrastinators. (Psychologi-cal Science, Vol. 8, No. 6).

Becoming an active procrastinator takes a great deal of self-discipline. For those who prefer the rush from crunching time, it’s im-portant to not spend all day at the mall or peeking into the lives of people on Face-book. .

“More than 50% of American college students procrasti-nate consistently.

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Got Insomnia?

Between school, home-work, and everything else

in between, stress can build up. A sleepless night is not on

the ‘To Do List.’ An adequate amount of

sleep is crucial to maintaining good health. The sleep also has to be consistent.

Some think that they can catch up on sleep during the

weekend, but this doesn’t have the same health ben-efits on the body.

If soothing music doesn’t do the trick, there’s another option to try: herbal tea. The catch is that it needs to be

Story & photo by: Anila Muskaj

caffeine free (such as Cham-omille tea) since some tea is naturally caffeinated. Antioxidants

You’re probably sick of hearing about these by now, but there’s a legitimate rea-

son for it. Antioxidants neu-tralize the free-radicals in the body that can eventually lead to cancer as well as other illnesses. More oxygen enters the brain and passes through the rest of the body

through the consumption of drinks with antioxidants such as tea.

The chances of develop-ing mental health problems such as Alzheimer’s and Par-kinson’s disease are lowered.

If tea isn’t your cup of tea per se, then decaffeinated coffee is an excellent sub-stitute, especially for those advised to stay away from caffeine due to blood pres-sure problems.

Something I’m also guilty of is having midnight snacks or eating late at night. This is an example of what not to do if you’re trying to get to sleep by a normal time. Eat-ing late at night makes the body have to work through-out the night to digest the food. Think of it as having to having to work another shift

after being done with one workday.

If you must have a small snack before bed, avoid sug-ary snacks that are likely to make you hyper. Dreams

The chart below lists the 10 most common dreams stu-dents have. Although falling asleep may be a challenge on its own, having a dream about falling may follow.

After reaching a deeper level of a sleep, dreams start to take place. Many have asked or wondered why we dream, but there isn’t an

exact answer. Some believe dreams are our subconscious thoughts while others swear by premonitions within their dreams or nightmares. The length of dreams also varies on the person and the type of dream. Most dreams oc-cur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when brain activity is closest to what it would be when awake.

Dream studies have prov-en that most dreams that we have recollection of are about overcoming challeng-es, or nightmare-like.

Top 10 Dreams

Falli

ng

Bei

ng a

ttac

ked

or p

ursu

ed

Tryi

ng r

epea

tedl

y to

do

som

ethi

ng

Sch

ools

, te

ache

rs,

stud

ying

Sex

ual e

xper

ienc

es

Arr

ivin

g to

o la

te

Eatin

g

Bei

ng f

roze

n w

ith fea

r

Bei

ng lo

cked

up

Perc

enta

ge o

f st

uden

ts r

epor

ting

drea

m

Getting Inside Their Heads 14

A lo

ved

one

is d

ead

Type of Dream

*Source: Griffith, Miyago and Tago

.

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

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Testing, 1, 2, 3

We’re constantly being tested. From pre-em-

ployment tests to college en-trance tests, they can deter-mine our future in academics and career.

What do certain tests really measure?

Intelligence tests are some-times obsessed over, but aren’t as accurate as they are made out to be. Earning a high score can satisfy an ego but it may not be much more than a bragging right.

Test defects in general include not being tested on every task a student may be good at and not being able to do so.

Howard Gardner, a well-known developmental psy-chologist proposed a theory

of multiple intelligences. If his theory were applied to the school system, students would be tested based on a wide spectrum, including mu-sical and intrapersonal skills.

Tests account for 25% of the variation in performanc-es. A test variation is defined as “a change in the manner in which a test is presented or administered, or in how a test taker is allowed to respond” according to the California Department of Education.

From extra perks such as allowing students extra time, to being able to use scratch paper, test variations can alter the accuracy of scores.

This translates to tests not being accurate in predicting how a person will lead in a

stressful situation once the comfortable surroundings used in a test setting are re-moved.

In fact, a person with a lower I.Q. has a higher

Keep this in mind when studying

Rate of retention:100% - Immediate

60% - After 20 mins

40% - 1 hour later

20% - After 6 days +

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By: Anila Muskaj

Testing,

Memory isn’t stored in any one place of the brain

Deja Vu

Jamais Vu

Flashbub Memory

Tip of the Tongue

Brain (subconsciously) recog-nizes cues in the environment before conscious does.

You have done something, but have no recollection of it.

Vivid Memory of an occurence (i.e. 9/11 Attack).

Brain is sending a similar but incorrect cue.

Have you ever experienced..

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chance of leading or man-aging better under pressure.

Another problem with in-telligence tests is that 90% of variation in people’s perfor-mance isn’t explained.

These can include culture and personal experiences.

College entrance tests such as the ACT/SAT are weighted too heavily.

A high score on a pre-entrance test doesn’t ensure a “good” student who will meet deadlines and show up to class on time.

Those who aren’t good test takers or whose I.Q. scores don’t prove to be that of a genius should rest assured that other skills can lead to success in a career setting.

makes the heart grow fonder

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It would have seemed like a ludicrous or even humorous

idea at one point, but has now become a reality for 25 to 40 percent of college students.

Long-distance relation-ships have grown enough in popularity to be researched by a legit place called The Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships (look it up).

It is also estimated that 75 percent of college students have an LDR at some point.

The Internet has changed the way a relationship can work. A video chat can feel a lot more personal than the traditional phone conversa-tion. Social media sites such as Facebook have made it easy and convenient to meet new people.

A student like Elona Bushi knows the difficulty of hold-ing on to a long-distance relationship too well. She must manage time wisely between studying pharmacy and keeping the love be-tween her and her out-of-continent boyfriend alive. Like many others in her situ-ation, she relies on Skype to stay connected.

“We talk for hours at a time when we get the chance. It makes all the dif-ference. I still miss him, but this is best we can do for now,” she chuckled. “Love finds a way.”

The couple ironically met at a wedding, and decided to continue getting to know one other from then on de-spite the long distance be-tween them.

Although many students experience an LDR, only some make it through the distance.

“You have to know what you’re getting yourself into,” Bushi added. “I wasn’t hav-ing luck dating here, so I figured why not look outside of town.”

Bushi and her boyfriend are part of the group that made an LDR work for a year. They are planning their engagement party this up-coming summer.

“I can’t say it’s always easy holding on, but he’s so worth it to me, ” she said.

The tips to making an LDR work are derived from the advice Bushi gave for others who are having difficulty in the same situation.

By: Anila Muskaj

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Absence

Long-Distance Relationships 19

1. There must be an us in trust.

This goes for any type of relationship actually. Without establishing trust in your sig-nificant other, the relationship is doomed whether it’s in the same household or in separate continents.

2. Skype. Facebook. Skype. Skype.

A text or phone call can be nice but a video chat is that much more personal. It’s eas-ier to read into a conversation when body language and face expressions are in eye’s view. Social networking can make it easier to stay connected by be-ing able to see another side of the person.

3. Prioritize. Plan. Repeat.An LDR takes more ad-

vanced planning. Although there should still be sponta-neity within the relationship, it’s also important that both schedules are freed up at the same time in order to keep the communication flowing.

4. Visit each other as much as possible.

Yes, a plane ticket can be expensive, and gas prices may

5 ways to make an LDR work

5. Think positively.There will probably be peo-

ple around you who may think your relationship is a joke. Don’t let that get to you. As

mentioned in the first tip, the confidence you have in your boyfriend or girlfriend and your relationship will rule out the negative outside influ-ences. You can’t expect for something to be successful if you don’t believe it.

be shooting through the roof, but when there’s a will, there most certainly is a way.

Photo by Gledisa Dalipi

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A girl should be two things: Classy & Fabulous -Coco Chanel

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