Good morning, good afternoon, good day wherever you’re reading this, I’d like to discuss a topic that has been quite literally danced around in most of my articles. I’m a very personal writer, as many people have told me and I mostly discuss events that reflect on my life, anonymous stories from friends or my general college experience…which brings me to my next topic, Being overly involved in campus life while trying to balance your education, relationships, and social life.
Well for my new readers, or old ones who have read this about myself, my name is Tayla Camper, I’m a junior at the ILLUSTRIOUS Clark Atlanta University, and I’m a mass media major, minoring in English. I’m an e-board member for HerCampusCAU (the best CCO just saying), a femdelacreme mentor to my little mentee (if you see this I love you lil bit lol), a media and service ambassador, and a 2017-2018 Miss Black representing Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity inc, Alpha Phi chapter. While being a student, I also have an ongoing internship and two jobs when I return home for college breaks.
A lot of times I have close friends text me about how proud they are of me, how they have no idea “how I do it”, how they wish they could balance being in my shoes, but let me quickly debunk this. I am not perfect and I’m quite frankly stressed. Being involved is all fun and games until you get hit with 3 test, 15-page papers, media video assignments, and blog posts to turn in every Sunday by 11:59 pm…#issademerit However, for the readers who are curious about how I make my best attempts at keeping a balanced lifestyle, here are a few tips I use:
- A planner – Elementary, right? Wrong. A planner will save your life, a planner will gather your thoughts better than any calendar and alarm will. Whether you decide to buy a planner or creatively create one, it’s a great idea to have a small booklet that will remind you of times, test, dates and anything else you really need to know during the week or even planning for the upcoming month.
- Sleep– Crucial, my friends call me Auntie T because by 1 am I’m usually knocked all the way out. I’m the type to leave the function and watch Stranger Things from my bed; I’m damn near a sleepy cat lady.
- Eating properly – I’m adding this tip to seem like a great student when I know my cafeteria diet consists of pizza and stale French fries. We’re still illustrious though.
- Make time for friendships – This one is actually important. When you have genuine friendships, relationships or even professors you can confide in, it will genuinely ease you of so many stressors. I have seen some of the people at the top of their game have mental breakdowns, including myself. A lot of people believe that they’re alone, or may feel like the whole world is being thrown on them because of whatever positions they’re apart of, but all it really takes is that one confidant, that one friend or person to let you know that what you’re experiencing will not last forever.
- Academics – This is imperative, and a quote I said earlier today actually. “You are here to graduate, not to stress over anything unrelated.” No matter what you choose to get involved with, know that your academics are more important than any of those things.
- Mental Health breaks – Refer to any of my articles where I mention mental health and its importance. A lot of people handle mental health breaks in different ways. Reading a favorite book, going to a movie, taking themselves out to eat, meditating or even writing. My guilty pleasure is writing, so I always do this when the world is crashing. I’m in a bubble writing.
If you’re a freshman reading this, don’t get too overwhelmed because my life freshman year is nearly polar opposite to how it is now. Freshman year I had no idea what I was doing, I wasn’t involved in anything, I didn’t do anything, and now I barely have time to breathe…but I love it. Out of this brief article, I just want everyone to remember they’re loved, and never alone and that you will survive college.