A few weeks ago, my friends ever so lovingly threw me into a trashcan filled with colored water to commemorate the beginning of my co-presidency of Rice University’s South Asian Society. While the afternoon was all fun and games, dumping bags on color on people’s heads and throwing them into the mud pits, the real work was yet to come.
Late into the night, my legs sore from running all afternoon and my mouth still gritty with the taste of powder, my co-president and I messaged back and forth to get a head start on our upcoming event. We had to plan a board meeting, reserve the Grand Hall, find a DJ, order food, get decorations, etc. So naturally, the first point of action was making a GroupMe.
I’ve become numb to the sound of my phone dinging, because 99 percent of the time it’s another group message. My battery is usually drained halfway into my day because I check my phone after class to see my phone screen full of messages, most of which are irrelevant — group texts, Facebook messenger, GroupMe, Slack, WhatsApp.
It almost feels like the number of group texts has become a status symbol, similar to Facebook or Instagram likes (shoutout to my last article). The more GroupMe conversations, the more involved you are. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But where do we draw the line?
I’m not here to rehash the same concepts we always heard about, with students being overcommitted, blah blah blah. Granted, it is a problem, but unfortunately, that’s what society has come to. If we ever feel like we have free time or nothing to do, we become uneasy. In fact, just the other day when I was sitting in Fondren library studying for my upcoming three exams and a presentation, I received a text from my friend: “I have zero work rn and it’s so uncomfortable. Like, I literally don’t know what to do with all this time.”
So quite frankly, it makes sense that Rice students are overcommitted. As much as we long for free time and relaxation, at the same time, it scares us. Every minute we have free, we’re convinced that’s time that someone else is getting ahead of us. That’s why we dive into the extracurriculars.
And this is not the blame game. I am 100 percent guilty of this, and I know it. My friends call me the acronym queen because of all the activities I’m involved in: RHA, PAA, SAS, RPC, just to name a few.
What I’m trying to say if that if we’re going to stay this active, at least do the things you enjoy. We all eventually hit that breaking point(s), where your external work takes over your life and your academics and mental health suffer. It happens to everyone. In fact, it happens so much that Rice administration has picked up on it and attempted to fix the situations. For the incoming class of 2020, freshmen will be restricted to 17 credit hours their first year of college and 18 hours for the following three years, compared to the usual 20 credit hour limit. However, I respectfully believe they are approaching the topic from a different angle that many students don’t agree with, including me.
So, what do we do?
Rather than limiting the academics, we need to limit the GroupMes, i.e. extracurricular activities. There has been a stigma that extracurriculars bulking up one's resumé are a necessity in pursuing post-undergraduate education. What I’m saying is, we need to focus on the things we are passionate about. Instead of taking part in clubs just for the sake of a conversation starter, join clubs that actually interest you. And sure, they may still take a lot of work and commitment, but you’ll enjoy it. But you have to start by removing the GroupMe chats that you are not interested in.
When I ran for co-president of SAS, I wasn’t entirely sure of what I was getting myself into. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and that it would be stressful at times, but it’s what I’m passionate about, so the fun board meetings will outweigh the late night planning sessions. The people you work with in these extracurriculars become your closest friends and family. When the work, exhaustion, and stress catch up to you, they will be there to help you out.
It’s safe to say my Rice experience would be completely different if I were not involved the activities I’m involved in now. So feel free to step out of your comfort zone and go for something that interests you — you never know what you’ll come to love.
