Photo courtesy of www.santabanta.com.
College life gets busy; there’s no denying it. There are classes to attend, exams to study for, extracurricular activities to participate in and necessary chores to do (eating, sleeping, grocery shopping, etc.). It can be really hard to consciously make the decision to put school aside to have “fun time.” During high school and my first few years of college, I’d feel guilty about taking any time for myself, especially time to be with my friends and family. I’d usually end up getting a little twitchy thinking of all the things that I had to do and berating myself internally for taking the time to hang out rather than work.
But as more time passed in college, I began to realize that it’s important to schedule time to spend with loved ones. We all need a break from our hectic, crazy lives and I’ve found that going out with my friends and family is a great way for me to chill out and take a deep breath. I’ve learned to stop feeling guilty about taking time to do these things — being with the people I care about is something that’s really valuable to me. Gradually, I’d stop using schoolwork as an excuse when my mum invited me to do something like go to a movie with her and my brother. I learned how to rearrange my schoolwork schedule to accommodate these things and I don’t regret it.
Of course, there are times when life is just too busy and I have to spend the day in front of my laptop doing homework and that’s okay too. But the thing that I’ve learned is to give “hanging out time” a chance. To actually try to make it work rather than instantly saying no because of schoolwork. If it doesn’t work out, then so be it, but when the opportunity is there, I’ve learned to do what I can to take it. Besides, my family and friends help me feel good about myself and they make me laugh. I’m a firm believer that we need laughter in our lives and joking around with friends is beneficial for all involved.
I’m naturally a pretty introverted person, so getting the energy to go out can be a challenge sometimes. But lately I’ve discovered that being with people that I trust and care about is something I wouldn’t ever want to give up. Just because I’m introverted it doesn’t mean that I don’t need to socialize and be around my loved ones, and it doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy myself even when I’m not curled up at home with a good book.