I was doing some thinking the other day, and going through my memories to find that one in particular stood out to me. It was a conversation I had had with my brother a while ago, and for some reason, his words were coming back to me now. It was probably in the way he said it, maybe it was in his voice, but something that my brother-in-law said to me before college has resonated in my head for the past three years. He told me, "Study hard, Jessica. You need to do well. College is important. But don't let the experience pass you by. One thing I can promise you: You will remember the nights you went out with friends, not the ones you stayed in and studied."
Boy, was he right. I see it every day. Even being home for the summer, his words still apply. Don't get swamped by working in the summer and not doing things for you. Yes, it's important to make money to pay for college and to just save in general. But is it really worth not spending time with your friends and missing out on memories? No, it's not.
Life is about the experiences. Yes, you need to set yourself up for success in the future. That's necessary to even have good experiences. But don't go in with the mindset "I'll have fun once I'm successful and stable" because who really knows when or if that will happen? Who knows if you still have people close enough to you that will wait and be there when you decide you can have fun.
People stress far too much about school and work. They lose track of enjoying themselves. Life is about balance. Only with that will you ever be happy.
So go out to that party. You've been studying for three hours. One night will not make or break your grade. Go out to eat with friends instead of working overtime some nights. Only by embracing what actually makes you happy does the hard work pay off. It makes it worth it and more bearable.
It'll lower your stress, which is good for your overall health. And that in turn will benefit you for work. Because if you get sick, that puts you at least a day behind because you can't do your work or go to class. And that will stress you even more so and its a bad cycle to get into. So take breaks and relax.
So take my brother-in-law's advice. Have the fun nights that make it all worth it. Focus and do what you have to, but don't overdo it. Don't get so caught up in your life that you forget to actually live it. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."
