Adjusting to college has definitely taken a toll on me. This week alone has been a bit of an eye opener as to what college is really like. Now that it is no longer syllabus week, my professors have started piling on the work. Homework, tests, essays and projects are all weighing on my shoulders with deadlines looming in the distance. All of my older friends warned me before I built my schedule, “Don’t sign up for 8 a.m. classes!” Since i was used to getting up at 6 every morning for high school I figured that an 8 am would be just fine, so I signed up for all 8 and 9 am classes. Boy was I wrong. Without curfews here, I find myself going to bed at 1, 2, sometimes even 3 a.m. on school nights. Getting out of bed for classes that early in the morning has definitely proven to be a challenge. Classes as a whole are different now as well. Professors move at a much faster pace than high school teachers, and if you aren’t paying attention for just a few minutes, you could find yourself lost for the remainder of your 3 hour long lecture. Professors also do not care whether or not you show up to their class, and whether you actually do the homework is completely up to you. In order to be successful, you need to be on your A game, all the time.
On top of the mountain of homework, quizzes and essays I have ahead of me, getting involved in extracurricular activities has become a serious priority. My university puts a big emphasis on how if you want to be successful, you need to get involved. There was a huge involvement fair this past week where members of all of the clubs and teams on campus set up booths. Students could go to these stations to learn more about the different groups and sign up for ones they were interested in. I, not being able to say no to anyone who asked me if I was interested in their group found myself accidentally signing up for fifteen clubs, including a sorority. I knew that I was looking to get involved on campus but I definitely didn't anticipate just how involved I actually was going to get. My calendar is now filled with various club meetings and deadlines for assignments. It seems like I always have somewhere to be, something to get done, and then another task to accomplish after that.
Living in Boston has been incredible so far, but it has definitely come with a few downfalls. For one, I’m still trying to get accustomed to living in a city environment 24/7. Everything moves very fast here. People are rushing across crosswalks to get to work or class. Cars, buses and Duck-boats are in constant motion in the streets. There is never a moment of silence in the city, which is fine during the day but definitely not at 4 in the morning when you're still trying to fall asleep. I never thought that living in an environment like this would affect me in the way that it has. Its very exhausting to be constantly surrounded by a city that never seems to take a day off.
So, I decided to take a day off. I am not the type of person to completely waste a day, but that was exactly what I decided to do. For the first time in years I slept in past noon. For someone that is almost always up and out of bed by 8 am, this was a huge accomplishment. I spent the majority of the day catching up on Netflix shows and eating my way through a full bag of chocolate covered pretzels. I also took a really nice long shower to help de-stress, which i followed up with a very long nap. I have never had such a lazy day before in my life, and it was incredible. I forced myself to focus on completely irrelevant things while putting my mind at ease about my mile long to-do list. After the crazy week that I had just had, I definitely needed to spend a day doing absolutely nothing. Although I still have my to-do list, I can now approach it feeling refreshed and clear minded. It is definitely important to realize that sometimes society moves way too fast, and it's okay to take a break from it every now and again.
