We are all told from the very first day of freshmen year, “You need to take serious classes, get a good GPA, get internships, be involved, get leadership experience, and most importantly, major in something that will get you a job.” While every aspect of this is true, there’s another side that people might not tell you.
This past semester I overloaded myself with too many credits, too many clubs and organizations, and altogether, too many commitments. While I loved all of the clubs, organizations, and most of my classes (not the homework though…), I knew I had taken on too much, but I was afraid to admit it, fearing that I would disappoint myself.
Let me tell you some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten: You can’t create unrealistic expectations for yourself. Now that’s not to say you shouldn’t challenge yourself and put yourself outside your comfort zone, but you need to be at peace with letting things go – maybe dropping a class if you need to, or taking a twelve-credit semester. It will be okay; you will still get a job. And more importantly, you’ll enjoy every other aspect of your college life that much more.
Dropping a class and taking the big, scary W isn’t so horrible. I did it for the first time this week with a class I was actually doing well in, however, I didn’t need it for my major and I was drowning in the stress of all my other more important classes. Making the decision to drop it took me weeks, but I finally realized that I can’t be that perfect college girl that juggles everything thrown onto my plate, while I keep adding to that plate. I had to make a decision that would help me in the long run.
You have to know when it’s okay to accept defeat because sometimes the retreat can be sweet. For me, it was accepting dropping a class, and retreating to my bed for my first night of eight full hours of sleep in months.
There are a ton of things that can make your life more manageable, like dropping a class, accepting a lower grade than you had hoped for while knowing it was the best you could do in your circumstances, ditching your friends for a few weekends to catch up, telling your club you can’t handle as much responsibility, or even just accepting the fact that you’re going to wear sweats and a t-shirt for the next two weeks straight.
There’s this crazy notion that we all have to be this perfect girl – the one who does it all. That’s not how we should function. Yes, we should be involved and keep our grades up. Just stay truthful to yourself and know when it’s time to take that much needed breather.
We all have to learn and accept that it’s really okay to make time for friends and things that ultimately make you the happiest person you can be. When you’re happy in life, all the small things will seem that much more manageable. So first make sure you are happy because that’s truly the most important thing in our short time that we are lucky enough to have at Pitt.
Photo credit here.