It's easy to become overwhelmed by the onslaught of assignments, exams, meetings, and late-night library sessions that make up your life as a college student. So easy, in fact, that you may forget (like many others) the real reason why you're actually enrolled in school.

There’s no law that requires all individuals to attend an institution of higher education, but yet you’ve chosen to go to college, shoveling out a couple thousand dollars in the process. Why?

I suppose everyone’s answer might be slightly different; although, we probably all share the same desire to graduate with a degree that better equips us to pursue our career path out in the “real world.” But don’t merely focus your mind on finishing classes for that degree. Don’t begrudgingly complete assignments to simply move on; instead, allow yourself to internalize the material. Don’t forget that a central part of a college education is to better prepare yourself for adulthood by growing into more of an intellectual who is well-informed about a variety of subjects and able to approach things with a wide breadth of knowledge supporting them.

Courses can quickly become repetitive and dreary if you approach them the wrong way— especially when you’re trying to juggle them with time for sleep, socialization and extracurricular activities. It’s exceptionally important at these times to remind yourself that you are learning for yourself. You’re not cheating anyone but yourself if you choose to not do the lecture reading, skip class, or half-ass your way through an essay. No matter how unnecessary or annoying you may deem an assignment to be, do it. Do it to the best of your ability.

I had a Hebrew teacher in high school who commonly used a phrase that directly translates to "for the cocktail party.” She would say this whenever we dissected a story, learned about an author, or discussed a matter of current events. It was her way of having us look out into our futures (supposedly filled with countless cocktail parties,) and think of how intelligent we would sound if we just paid attention during the lesson. Knowing things is cool: whether it be about the news, literature, mathematics, or philosophy. Furthermore, you never know who you might run into— every opportunity is one for networking.

Everything you internalize will help you become a better informed and an exceedingly mature individual.

Every so often, we all need a reminder to shift our perspective and our approach to learning. Stop looking at every assignment as a hindrance or a hassle, and embrace the opportunity to enhance your personal bank of academic knowledge. You never know when referencing a psych study, or a tid-bit from a poetry seminar may come in handy!