I think every college freshman, at least at first, struggles with learning how to balance a social life and their academics. The lucky few among us may already know how to excel in both the social and academic aspect of college, but I sure as hell know that I am not one of those people.

The beginning of the first semester of freshman year came easy to me. I was excited to be in college and that excitement led me to be extremely motivated all of the time to get my homework done on time, study every night, and be able to have fun on the weekends (which usually meant binge watching New Girl and eating way too many kit kats). Anyway, back to my main point. As the semester went on I found that it became a lot harder to stay focused on my academics because I was always letting myself get distracted. I had so much freedom and because I grew up in such a strict household, I was not used to it. My sleeping schedule was so out of whack that I eventually became the human embodiment of a zombie. I pulled so many all-nighters that it became normal for me to not sleep. My brain absolutely hated me. Classes got harder and having fun with friends happened a lot less. I procrastinated way too much and I can probably count on one hand the amount of times that I did an assignment ahead of time instead of waiting until the last possible minute like I usually did. I always used the excuse “I work better under pressure”, but we all know that’s a lie. I mean, sure, doing my homework at the last minute always got the job done and those assignments weren’t ever all that bad, but it definitely wasn't my best work. I once wrote a twenty-two page paper in the span of forty-eight hours, I don't know how, but it got done and trust me, it was the worst two nights of what has so far been my college career nights. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I’m sure that if I had given myself more time and more sleep, that paper would have come out ten times better.

By the second semester I felt so much busier than I actually was. It seemed so hard for me to balance work, school and relationships while my incredible roommate was over here excelling in what seemed like twenty clubs, a sorority, a relationship, friendships, and she still somehow managed to get an A in every single one of her classes. She was not only great at balancing school and fun, but she was also seemingly good at life. The real reason behind her success was organization and dedication. She had planners and calendars marked in detail for every day of the week and she always did everything on time. I wish that I had been more like my best friend when it came to my academic efforts freshman year, but I was too busy making my life way harder than it needed to be. I don’t know how many times I have had a friend tell me, “You seemed like you had it all together until I really got to know you.” Yes, people have actually said that to me and yes, I was a very unorganized, closeted mess. Thank goodness that I’ve learned from my first year mistakes because there’s absolutely no way that I’d survive this year without those lessons. Balancing the college life can be easy, well as easy as it gets, when you’re actually willing to do it. I hope that all of you incoming freshman learn from my mistakes. Make sure to be organized, work hard, and get plenty of sleep for it will all be worth it at the end of the semester. College is an amazing opportunity and an exciting time in your life, so make sure that you take advantage of it. So, on that note, let this school year be full of plenty of fun and lots of good grades.