College is a wonderful experience that I wish everyone had the chance to experience. Those who have the opportunity to attend a college or university know exactly how much of a balancing act being a college student can be. All at once college students try to balance their education, clubs/extracurriculars, work/jobs, internships/research/career preparation, friends, events, and personal lives. This can prove difficult because many times college students want to take on way more than they can handle. The best visualization I can think of to demonstrate the life of a college student is the picture of the Cat in the Hat standing on a ball and balancing things.
The Cat in the Hat is ever so confident in his balancing skills and he continually adds more and more to his plate until eventually... BAM! The cat came crashing down and everything he was balancing went flying everywhere ultimately ruining his entire balancing act. The same thing will happen in college if you take on too many responsibilities; you will fall flat on your face, and everything will come crashing down around you. The rewards of being an involved student truly do outweigh the risks so don't think that you shouldn't get involved you just have to find your own balance.
School itself is the basis of this elaborate balancing act. The main objective when coming to school is to pursue a degree and receive a diploma in that field of study. This is the most important part even though it is still an extremely difficult part of the college career. The fact that this is the foundation of a college career and it is difficult, it relates perfectly to the ball the the Cat balances upon. No matter what you get involved in remember that you are a student first and your studies are extremely vital! The college education should always be the priority while attending college.
Friendships and connections are a major part of the college experience but they are another challenge that college students face. Trying to get through college your social life is an extremely vital aspect. An active social life helps students be successful in the college setting. Having a social circle provides a support system in order to handle the stressors of everyday life and classes. This social aspect can be visualized as the fish that the cat balances, constantly there giving you input. Finding time to hang out with friends can prove to be a difficult task but overall it is an important thing to find time to add it to your balancing act.
The next important thing to discuss is attending events. This will be represented by the cake on top of the cat's hat. Events are a sweet perk to being in college they are most likely free and have great benefits. These events allow you to meet more people, learn about your school, sometimes even allow you to network with people who may be able to help you in the future. Attending these events is extremely important, for success in college. Now, we all know logically one person can not make it to every event that is hosted on campus, there just isn't enough free time, BUT everyone should find time to go to at least some of these events. Even a simple craft night could help relieve stress and present you with some new skill that you may need further down the line. Now why is this represented by the cake well, because events are sweet and can be enjoyed by everyone. Also, just like their are many different flavors of cake there are many different types of events. So, go out to an event or two, get involved in what your school is doing.
Schools have a large variety of clubs and organizations that are available. If someone wants to join a club and the club does not exist, most schools make it easy to make a new club. These clubs provide leadership opportunities and all different ways to get involved. These clubs are a great way to have fun and experience many different things. Now, an issue that many people can have in college is joining too many clubs and overloading themselves. Joining too many clubs or organizations can consume time and make it more difficult to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to the school work which should be the basis of your time here at college. This is best represented by the rake, umbrella, boat, and tray of milk. Now, why are the clubs represented by so many things? That's because clubs and organizations are not all the same and one person can be involved in any variety of clubs. Now again all these things are on one side of the cat so they can take up a lot of commitment and time, but never go past what you are able to hold.
The fan the cat waves in his tail represents the work that college students tend to have. The important thing to remember is that all the money in the world does not mean you have the free time to enjoy the money made. Yes, working is important so that you can enjoy the spoils of college life but having too many different jobs causes stress and this stress can be detrimental. Finding a job and working it well will lead to the best success. That way the office hours, late nights, and other tasks don't cut into the academics and other social aspects of college.
Hands on experience in your field of study is extremely important as well. This can be represented by the stack of books. This could be an internship, clinical, student teaching, or research opportunity. These are important but they also can't be the only focus. If they are then you miss out on all the other wonderful aspects of college life.
Overall, finding a balance in the college world is difficult! There is so much going on and so many more things that you want to do than is physically possible. Just remember that you aren't perfect and that there is always someone to lend a hand and help you balance it all out. And if you need to drop out of one of the thirty seven clubs you are in, in order to better succeed, don't be afraid to do it. Ask someone for advice if you need it, because all of us are struggling to balance too and if we all support one another it definitely will be easier.
