When coming to college, many people have a hard time adjusting to the lack of constant parental authority with the sudden amount of independence. Independence is a double edged sword as you can come to realize that you are suddenly responsible for every decision that you make, whether it helps or hinders you. Even as an experienced college goer, most students do struggle with managing their time in the most effective manner possible in which they can still succeed in the classroom while also balancing other extracurriculars and responsibilities; especially since there is no entity telling them exactly what to do. For this reason, it is incredibly important to evaluate your goals and priorities and make sure that your actions are reciprocating your aspirations.

Through it all, even if succeeding in school is your top priority, we need to keep in mind that our friends and family are the ones who help us constantly along the way and subsequently realize that we do need to make time for them even when you are drowning in school work. After all, they are always making time for us, and they really should be one of your top priorities. I, and many others, have been guilty on numerous occasions of succumbing to school work instead of hanging out with my friends, even though I knew if I had properly time managed that I could have done my school work earlier or some other time in the week.

I have learned that throughout college, and throughout life in general, you are going to have to make sacrifices in your planner or calendar for your friends and family, and that is OK. In fact, it is highly recommended. Society has turned our education system into a nasty cycle of always looking towards the future; but, a lot of the time, we forget to live in the present with the people who are most important to us. We need to realize that yes, the GPAs, the interview workshops, the grueling hours in the library, the study sessions, internships, jobs, these things are all important for our futures, but our friends and families are even more so. And, unfortunately, we cannot always know how much time we get with these people that we love, because we cannot guarantee life. Hence, it is so so paramount to remember that even when you feel that you have a lot on your plate, you need to show up for the ones that you love. It is not fair, or rather it is selfish, to abandon those who have been their for you in your darkest times or whenever you needed anything, and not do the same for them.

Where there is a will, there is a way. If you make time for your friends and family, if you truly want to succeed in school, you will still find a way to do so, especially if you take the time to sit down and readjust your schedules. We should not throw away the numerous opportunities to bond while while we still can because of this enormous, pressure-filled cycle telling us that we must dedicate our lives to slaving away at good grades in order to be considered successful. They are the ones, after all, that shape your college experience for the better and help you reach your full potential in all aspects of life.

So, take that spontaneous road trip, go see a movie, go skydiving, spend time FaceTiming your parents, or go do whatever you have been dying to do with your friends. Because the memories you make throughout college will last a lifetime, and no one wants to remember college merely by the library and resume workshops.