Lately, I have been super busy working on projects; it seems like every time I turn one in another is assigned. It has been a constant flow of projects that seems never-ending.
I understand that college is supposed to be difficult and that there is an expectation that we spend more time out of the classroom on a subject than we do inside the classroom. But, I am really starting to think that every professor assumes that the class I am taking with them is the only class I am taking.
The workload for each class takes up more than the expected out-of-class time that I am spending on a subject. On top of the workload, it is expected that I also routinely study for each class.
If I were to add up the time for studying and the workload for all classes in my schedule I would have to give up sleep or stop going to class to put in all of the expected time.
Even over break I had four projects to work on and a test to study for along with a homework assignment.
Instead of enjoying my time off, I was stuck working on at least one project for all but one of my classes; I had two projects for two of my classes. I thought that break was intended for students to take a break from school. It turns out that it is actually supposed to stress us out more than we get stressed outside of break.
This is going against much of what I have learned from other resources on campus.
Since freshman year I have been taught to maintain a balance between education, social life and sleep. I was taught that this is how to maintain a good mental health. This balance is also a common topic in pop psychology. I feel that the concept does make sense but the execution of the concept seems near impossible.
I have found that I do feel better when I balance my time, until I am faced with a test to cram for or a project deadline. Even if I work on the project a little every day, if I set aside time to spend with my friends and time for a good night’s sleep, the project will not be the best it possibly could.
I’m now faced with the issue of determining if I would rather spend all of my time on school or if I should balance out my time with having a social life and sleeping. If I spend all of my time on school I will lose sleep and probably forget what a social life is, but if I balance out my time, my grades are likely to suffer.
I have to wonder if there is a person who has figured out the best way to get through college. I feel that the search for the best way to get through college is going to be at least as difficult, if not more, than the search for the meaning of life.

SARAH BARTKOWIAK
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