It’s 3 a.m. when my alarm goes off. No, not to wake up, but to remind myself to go to sleep so I can wake up at 8 a.m. to get ready for my classes.
Yes. I must remind myself to sleep because five hours is about the average amount of sleep I get every night, if I’m lucky.
Most nights, I wonder how we all do it.
Students are expected to take an average of 15 credits per semester, study two hours for every one hour they spend in class (which would roughly be 30 hours a week dedicated to studying), and get eight hours of sleep.
That equals 30 hours of studying, 56 hours of sleep, 20 hours if you work a part time job, and just for kicks and giggles, let’s throw in an hour that you spend daily on homework. That’s 113 hours out of 168 hours in a week, which leaves you seven hours a day to do whatever you please.
Including, of course, time for food, exercise, RSOs you may be in, and hanging out with your friends, family or significant other—the things that are typically used when describing the experience that is “college life.”
I remember my visit to Ferris and how my family and I walked around campus. We saw students lounging in hammocks while others threw Frisbees like some slow-motion movie where everyone’s abnormally happy. We checked out the food court and residence hall lobbies that were thriving with student life. It was a fun day, it was part of the reason I was so attracted to this university.
Now, in my third year at Ferris, I wish they would’ve shed light on the real college experience in hopes of being better prepared for it.
Students who have attended parties and go out with their friends every night complain in class about how they don’t know how they could possibly be failing. Students pay for The Rock but can’t seem to fully enjoy the food because they are trying to scarf their food in 15 minutes before their next class.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure the perfect college experience is possible. I just haven’t discovered it, yet. Luckily, I was able to use these past few years to find tricks that have helped my weeks go by a little smoother.
Say it with me: PLANNER.
Taking the time to write down all of your tasks for the week will keep your priorities in mind and is also a great idea if you find yourself misplacing homework.
Schedule specific times to work on homework and find what works for you, whether it is doing the more urgent homework first or by working backwards.
Most of us are near or in our 20s. Therefore we know there is never a good time to relax. Instead, I encourage you all to remember that sometimes getting an A on that test isn’t worth your sanity. Make time for yourself and do something you love because your first priority should always be you.