College represents a time of significant change for many individuals. Often, the person has moved away from home for the first time. It represents newfound freedom, but also significant responsibility. It must be recognized that in high school, parents dictated what time a student would be home at night and whether or not a student could stay out late during school nights. This helped to keep many students on track. If a student had to be in by a certain hour during the week, he or she was assured of specific nights to tackle studying and assignments. Once in college, Mom and Dad are not there anymore to ensure that a student stays on track. The student may try to juggle too much: school work, a job, a nightlife and extracurricular activities. This may lead to the student “burning out” very quickly. It is important to a person to have fun; however, the primary reason to be in college is to obtain a quality education. The following paper will suggest ways that will keep a student on track to have a well-rounded experience that does not result in burn-out.
The first suggestion is to remember that the primary reason for going to college is to actually go to class. Classes must be the primary concern. Sure, each class may let you miss a certain amount of classes. However, these “free days” should not be used for any reason. It is too easy to say, “Well, I was up late last night partying and I will take this morning as a missed day.” If you do that too many times, suddenly, at the end of the semester, you might become ill. This can happen as stress can lower your immune system. Suddenly, you have no additional classes to miss and you are too sick to get out of bed. You risk failing a class and wasting the entire semester of academic time, not to mention the tuition. One should treat each class like an appointment that cannot be missed, except in a true emergency.
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Going to class is the day to day. However, as everyone knows, a class also involves handing in papers, assignments and taking exams. I am convinced that all professors get together at the beginning of each semester and choose three days. These three days will be the day for everything to be due. All exams, group assignments and papers must be handed in only during these days. This clearly makes it difficult for the student. Because of this, one should keep an actual paper calendar in his or her room. A smart phone calendar is great. But often, let’s be honest, we do not look that far in advance with it. A ten minute warning is not good enough for a midterm. If a person has an actual visual reminder, he or she may be able to plan his or her time more wisely. All assignments, exams, and papers should be put on the calendar at the beginning of the semester. This provides the person with an idea about what is due when and where time needs to be allotted to do the assignment. Then schedule that time. A wise teacher once also told me that whatever time you think you need to do a paper, well, double it. This will give you an amount of “wiggle room” when you plan around it. It will also ensure that your paper is turned in on time.
One should also look at any major events one wants to attend on campus. These should also be put on the calendar. In this way, you will not forget them and realize that you need to study chemistry while something great is going on. The usual parties happen all the time, and by all means, go to some of them. Just remember, go to some of them. You cannot go to all the parties on campus and off-campus. This is a sad reality of balancing an academic life with a person life. You need to leave some time for the academics. And please remember that cramming is not true academic preparation. At some point in your life, someone will expect you to know something. If you crammed it in, instead of learning it, it will be a scary experience when your boss expects you to have learned the material. You might be able to bluff your way through an exam. You cannot bluff your way through a career.
One thing that you should do several times a week is engage in some type of physical activity. College is associated with the “freshman fifteen.” A cafeteria full of options, pizza places that deliver at all hours of the night, and let’s be honest, alcohol, can all be associated with weight gain. In order to limit this weight gain, and to improve one’s overall health, regular physical activity is important. There are plenty of options on campus, from aerobics, to a gym, to tennis. It does not matter what the physical activity is, as long as one does it. A lot of college students engage in yoga as physical activity. It not only provides a workout, but is known for its ability to reduce stress and teach a person to remain calm. This should also be treated like a regular class. Plug it into the smart phone and go when it comes up. It will not only keep the weight off, but is an excellent way of dealing with stress. Within a few weeks, you will not even need the reminder on your calendar. You and your body will crave the time for yourself. At the end of the semester, when everyone is stressed out and frazzled from studying and writing papers, you will be the picture of composure. Your secret will be that you made time throughout the semester to care for your body’s needs.
Now that one has planned the time for classes, studying, writing papers, going to major events, and regular exercise, it is easy to see that there is still plenty of time left over. This is the time when a person should go to some parties and mixers and make some new friends! Do not be afraid to venture outside of your “usual” social group. College is a time of exploration. Make friends from a wide variety of cultures, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds and interests. You may or may not become lifelong friends. However, the opportunity to enrich yourself through these contacts, no matter how long or how brief, will help to widen your horizons and open your mind. That is the true purpose of college. So enjoy it.
