I know what it means to be busy; it has become a normal aspect of my daily life, which is similar for many college students.
For me, between Dance Ensemble, serving as Chief News Editor for the Spire, being on the Her Campus E-Board, volunteering for SPUD, and working my job, my schedule can fill up extremely quickly with meetings, shifts, or even volunteer slots. On top of everything, add in classes, homework, studying, meals with friends, and campus events; there aren’t many empty spaces left in my calendar.
Yet, being busy has taught me something extremely important about college: having a busy schedule and having a fulfilling experience are not necessarily the same thing.
When I first started getting involved on campus, it was exciting to have so many opportunities available. I went to a very small high school, so I knew when I went to college I wanted to join everything. I quickly learned that there are endless numbers of clubs and organizations to join, and for many, it can feel like you should join as many as possible. At Holy Cross, each club is designed to help form interests, but it also works as a chance to meet people, explore connections, build experiences, and spend time doing something enjoyable.
For me, being in numerous organizations has made my college experience so much more than solely going to class and doing my homework. Dance provides me with an outlet to do something active; working for The Spire lets me connect to campus events through journalism; Her Campus allows me to meet new people, while SPUD and my job give me completely different perspectives on being an active community member.
Having different parts of my life, which are disconnected from the classroom, makes my weekly schedule feel balanced and calm, even when the homework starts to pile up. College is a time to learn in the classroom, but it is also a time to figure out what you enjoy, who you want to spend your time with, and what kind of life you want to build for yourself.
I still have plenty of busy days. In fact, I probably always will, but I am learning that the end goal is not to eliminate the busy parts. Rather, it is to make sure that somewhere in between the classes, meetings, practices, and deadlines, there is still room to actually enjoy being a college student.