When you hear about college, you hear that there’s so much homework and you have to study all the time. And that’s certainly true; you’re supposed to do at least two hours of work outside of class for every hour that you spend in class. But no one tells you what to do besides homework.
Every college offers a lot of extracurricular activities, clubs, cultural events, and random gatherings for whoever happens to be free. Plus, college towns usually have a lot of cheap, young adult-friendly activities you can do, from reasonably priced restaurants, to deals on movie tickets and other entertainment, to parks and various outdoor areas. But what do you do if you’re just not in the mood to do those things?
The answer is: nothing. No one tells you how much time you’re going to spend in college just sitting around, doing nothing. But this time holds so much potential. You could take up a new hobby, explore your area, meet some new people, research something you’re interested in, take advantage of all the free resources on campus, or even write the great American novel. For the most part, though, you’re probably just going to browse the Internet or lay on the floor of your dorm and stare at the ceiling.
So why does this happen? Well, I don’t know. The only reason I can think of is that as students, we spend so much time doing work and thinking about all the work we have to do that our brains are fried every time we stop doing work. Or perhaps we just can’t think of anything to do because we figure we’re already doing something important (getting an education), so that’s really all we need to worry about.
Whatever the cause, we need to combat this phenomenon. College offers so many exciting things that you should never be bored. If you find yourself sitting in your room doing nothing, remind yourself that you’re training to become a part of society, and then get up and do something.
Do something you love. Read a book. Call your parents. Volunteer somewhere. Clean your room. Go find a club somewhere. Sit in the lounge and meet some new people. Go for a walk. Check out a book from the library. Go to a class at the gym. Find someone you don’t know in the dining hall to eat with. Doing any of these things will make you a better person, even if just in the smallest way.
If you’re not into becoming a better person, that’s fine. There are other fun things you can do that don’t require any effort. Take your homework to Starbucks and hang out. Sit on the grass and read a book. Go for a walk around campus. Try to just exist in your community. Write down some of your random thoughts. Have a solo dance party in your room. Take a long shower. Just do something.
Having so much free time isn’t something you think about when you think about college, but it happens. You can fight it, though, just by doing something small that doesn’t require you to think about just how much you’re not doing. You don’t have to do anything big, but you should do something. College can feel lonely and boring, but I promise it’s fun if you just work for it a little.
