Since I started college at FSU last Fall, I’ve been a hard-working student. Despite my busy schedule, I have always been on top of my assignments and made my best effort to maintain my good grades. Coming to college has granted me many opportunities that I am incredibly grateful for; however, I am not receiving very much of a stereotypical college experience. I very rarely attend parties or partake in any sort of event that does not pertain to academics or the extracurriculars that I am involved in. Don’t get me wrong: I am involved in organizations that I love, I have a steady boyfriend that I love, and I have friends that I love. But the amount of fun experiences that I’ve missed out on because I’ve been studying or doing homework, is remarkably high.
Courtesy: Daniel Chekalov
Speaking with total honesty, I prioritize school to a degree that isn’t healthy. I miss out on making memories with my friends because I fear to get bad grades. Unlike many college students who balance school and fun, I’ve never forgotten to complete an assignment, nor have I ever submitted something that I wasn’t positive would get me a good grade. I’ve never gone into a test without studying for at least eight hours. My study guides are impeccable, and my grades reflect that. But where do I draw the line? I wouldn’t say that my habits are typical of many college students, simply because people have lives that extend beyond academics. At some point, I decided that I needed to take a step back and reevaluate my priorities.
I’m graduating in a year and the list of things that I haven’t done is long. I am certainly interested in stepping out of my comfort zone and doing things that college students tend to do, like going to my first football game (Yes, I know. I’ve never been to a football game). But hanging out with people and doing fun things all the time is kind of stressful for me since I always feel like I could be doing something for a class or learning my music for a cappella rehearsals. I love school and I love a cappella, but I know that I’d also love spending more late nights at Askew or on Landis with my friends. For me, the biggest issue is learning to let go of the feeling that I always had to be working on something.
Of course, I want to maintain my GPA and be a successful student. I have goals that I am working towards and am by no means looking to throw all of my hard work out the window, but there is certainly a balance that I need to find, between school, extracurriculars and my social life. The last thing that I want is to look back on my college years and regret that I did not make memories with the people that I care about. I know that I’m not going to remember all of those nights studying in Strozier with the same fondness that I will when reminiscing about the time my roommates and I went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show and stayed out until 3 a.m. sipping on milkshakes from the Den. That’s what I am going to change about my college experience: I am going to prioritize having fun to the same degree that I prioritize school and, I recommend, if you don’t already, that you do the same.
Courtesy: Emily Schutz
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