In college, you have infinite freedom, and with this comes a large amount of responsibility. For the first time in your life, your time is your own and you can use it in whatever way you see fit. You can spend hours on end watching Netflix without a concerned parent looming over to tell you to get outside and do something with your life. If you don't have a job, don't annoy your roommate, and finish your assignments on time, you can do whatever you want, day in and day out. Without the constant nagging of a helicopter parent, the college student in its natural environment is free to make whatever temporary life choices he or she chooses. The complete lack of consultation with others on life choices leads many students to spend their evenings drinking away their high school algebra lessons. However, a certain class of student goes in a slightly different direction: over-commitment. The freedom to do anything combined with a college campus's innate desire to occupy all of your time with hundreds of organizations, groups, clubs, teams, and projects leads to a large number of students who find themselves willingly giving away all of their time until there is nothing left. I know because I was, and am, one of them.
There are many reasons why a person would want to completely use their free time. Perhaps they are so used to being busy that the idea of doing nothing at all is strange and frightening. Perhaps they find that if they are not out in the world, soaking up the spotlight, then they will shrivel and die. Perhaps they believe that being given the freedom to do anything means that one has an obligation to do everything. As for me, the answer is all three. After the initial dizzying thrill of boundless freedom, I found myself over-committing to everything possible. I attempted to be part of an engineering group, an open mic night, and -- because I saw a sign posted in the quad near the dining hall, went straight to the building posted on the sign, found out the audition had been moved to a different location across campus, and sprinted there -- a play. By the time the school year had gotten into full swing, I quickly realized that I only had time for school, work, and the play. Even so, I was still put to the edge of my sanity by the amount of work required for a college-level play. Even as I was forced to stay up later and later into the night to just barely finish my schoolwork, I never considered quitting the play. I had decided that theater was something I wanted to do in college, and I'd be damned if I let the limitations of my own mind and body stop me.
The other problem with auditioning for everything is that you can't. You can't audition for everything. Even if you want to, it will get you into a lot of trouble. In the middle of the year, after I had finished the first play and recovered from the subsequent psychological trauma caused by the insane workload, I decided that I was ready for another play. Several auditions for shows that I was interested in were put on at around the same time: two contemporary plays and a production of Shakespeare. A normal person would have chosen their favorite show and auditioned for that. My thought process went something like, "I'll audition for all three and see what happens." Fortunately, I didn't get called back for the first show. Unfortunately, I was not only called back but also cast in the Shakespeare show. I got into the third show and was forced to drop out of the Shakespeare show just days after I was cast. Needless to say, some people in the Shakespeare department at Notre Dame still don't like me. He knows who he is. I'm sorry.
Even after writing this article, I can promise you that I'll make the same mistakes next year. Even knowing that sophomore year is supposed to be the most difficult for engineering students isn't enough to prevent me from auditioning for everything I can. It may sound insane to some people, but the whole point of these decisions is that they are mine to make and no one can make them for me. I can't wait until the first sleepless night, the first six-hour rehearsal followed by the same thing the next day, the first time I find myself cursing the day I was born, because no matter what problems arise this year, they are mine to face and mine to overcome. Doing plays on campus was still one of the best decisions I've ever made. Through all the pain and suffering, you'll find the things that make it all worth it. For me, it's always been about the people I meet. I've always loved actors but I can truly say the most amazing people I will ever meet are the ones that I have known and will continue to know through auditioning for everything. If I had to give advice to incoming freshmen, I'd say do what makes you happy. If I had to give slightly more advice, I'd say do everything that makes you happy all at once and don't worry about the consequences.
