Slesha Tuladhar
Equinox Staff
We were in the car driving to an Indian family in Keene five days ago. Everybody was talking to each other. I, in the side of the car was into my own world of assignments. I had to prepare four sketches that took two hours each and I had just completed one out of four. I was so worried that I would not be able to complete it in time and I was so deep in thought that I did not even hear half of the conversation people around me were having.
College life is fun and tough at the same time. We get to meet different people, involved in different activities and visit different places. But we also get a lot of assignments and have studying to do. Most of the time we are not able to manage our time between social and academic life. This results in either poor academics or a boring four years of college life. So, what do we do?
We plan to have a balance between our social and academics because both are super important. The first is to prioritize. We must set priorities for our social outings and academics. We need to sort out which one is more important and which one is less, then give time to them accordingly. You need to jot it down in your student planner, keep the schedule updated and if you do not have a planner, you need to get one soon.
Another way is to join a study group. This way we can study and socialize with friends at the same time. Sometimes the power of saying ‘No’ saves you when you have a lot to do for the following day’s class, but you have got a get together with friends. Now let us be practical here because again which one is important? Of course, the assignment that adds up to your final grade. We can always meet with our friends another time. Sometimes we must sacrifice some events just to save ourselves from bigger loss or hazard.
Also, if you have a social outing with friends and family, plan it out before. Unlike me, schedule the program when you can give your whole time to it and that you are fully into the program. Last minute plan and thrills are exciting, but it can get you in rush where your body is present, but your mind is roaming around in page 16 of your English book. The most important point is to do your word ahead of deadline. We try to do an assignment, paper or studying before one night which is not healthy all the time. Doing the work ahead of time saves you from the last-minute rush.
Give a lot of time to yourself and reflect on your achievements and areas for improvement. This will give you an insight to yourself and helps keep social and academic life in check. Last and the most important thing is to get enough hours of sleep. A normal human of our age must get 8 hours of sleep.
By the end of the day, I got all four of my sketches done. We visited the Indian family and had Indian food which I was craving for a long time. The people were really welcoming, and we talked a lot about the history of Nepal and India. We shared culture and I am so glad I visited because even if I had landed in the states a couple of weeks ago, I felt like having a family away from the family.
Slesha Tuladhar can be contacted at stuladhar@kscequinox.com
