Fall semester has either fallen upon you or is racing up to you fast. Whether you're a freshman or a super-senior, you know that you need to be a well-rounded individual in college. That means juggling your classes, studying, clubs, jobs, and social life effectively in order to not go absolutely crazy.
College is a time to find yourself. Your social life is key in this - whether it be joining clubs or going to campus events or, most people's go-to, partying. Who doesn't love a good party or going out to the bars after a long week of classes?
Parties are all fun and games until you start focusing on them instead of, you know, college.
Even if you're on a full ride, you're likely paying some amount of money to be at school. Textbooks, meal plans, rent, tuition - money you're using to hopefully better yourself. I don't know about you, but I take my money super seriously. I've worked hard for what I have and I don't like wasting my hard earned cash.
And that's what I see my peers doing all the time.
I see my friends and peers going out to parties and bars or even just buying absurd amounts of alcohol for themselves every single weekend. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Four days a week of partying.
I'm not innocent of this - my first semester of college saw me partying as much as I could - that's what college is all about, right?
Not when your grades start showing how much you're going out. Or when your hangovers are keeping you from going to those morning classes.
Sound familiar yet?
The kicker is that I hear these people complain about how hard their classes are from the second week until finals. Not to say college isn't hard - my classes kick my ass too - but if you're spending your free time at a bar instead of the library can you really expect to understand the class?
College is all about time management and balance. If you spend four days a week partying, your grades are probably going to reflect that. If you go out once or twice a week instead, your grades will reflect that instead. I'm not trying to get you to camp out in the library all semester, but if you're spending all weekend partying you might want to cut back a day or two and spend it hitting the books. It's not as fun or as social, but it will help when midterms come around and eventually when finals come up.
So this semester, do yourself a favor and spend a little more time in your notes than in your drinks - but also take time to do what you enjoy. Should partying be your only hobby? Probably not. Find a good balance between studying and your social life, and your grades will thank you.
