Here at Bradley, I’m invested in a lot. At one point, I felt like it was too many things.
My parents often told me that they like seeing me busy and having fun, as long as my grades were good.
“So far, so good,” they would message me.
As a freshman, I was majoring in sports communication, rushing a fraternity, joining the Bradley men’s club soccer team and writing and shooting photos for The Scout. What can I say? I wanted to stay busy and focused early on.
Now I’m not saying I had a harder time than anyone else; I’m just saying that I had a busy schedule for me and did the best with what I had.
Some days, it did get really busy.
A typical day consisted of attending classes all day and listening to boring lectures, like most. After that, I might have had soccer practice and then would have to attend a Bradley sporting event to cover. Then, I might have had a chapter meeting or exchange to go to. And I’d manage to cram homework and studying in between all of that somehow. Sheesh.
Busy for me, probably not as busy for others. Nevertheless, I’ve found that I actually prefer staying busy. I get more things done when there’s more stuff to do later.
When I’m “always” under pressure, I manage my time more efficiently and prepare to finish one job and move onto the next. So I’m forced to plan ahead and think about what’s a priority on a day-to-day basis. Some people might not like having to do that type of work and would rather let it come around when it’s that time, but I can’t afford to do that as much.
During the slower days, I tend to get bored more often and have nothing to do.
Now, I love binge-watching Netflix or wasting my time some other way just as much as the next person, but when it happens on a regular basis, it does eventually get old. Or I run out of things to watch, because Netflix doesn’t update shows frequently enough. Tragic, I know.
When I have more free time, I’m usually not spending it productively – which is no surprise – and end up waiting until the last minute. I found this to be a problem predominantly during my spring semester of sophomore year after the soccer season and fall rush were done.
Today as a second semester junior, I find myself more productive than ever. I have more hands-on courses related to my major. I’m still invested in the school’s newspaper via writing and photography, as you can tell by this column; I’m still playing soccer competitively; and I’m an active member in my fraternity.
“So far, so good.”
I’m not dead, and I’m really content with where I’m at. It felt like more of a pain a year or two ago, but now I have to start doing more to prepare for the future – the real world after college.
I look forward to it more optimistically this time around.
