As I enter my junior year in the hopes to find some normalcy, I was immediately met with an overwhelming amount of information and new experiences. Living out of the dorms the first few weeks back has definitely been an adjustment for me but it’s definitely becoming more of a normal thing the longer I’m here. As a Junior, it means I am entering more of my upper-level classes that have more to do with psychology. This also means that my extracurriculars are also all over the place because In order to get to graduate school I need to be conscious of what activities I do. Currently, I still maintain my campus job as a tour guide, I am Social Chair for the Badminton Club, I am a member of my social sorority Epsilon Sigma Alpha and I have all my classes on top of that. Managing my time has been a struggle to start but after the first two weeks, I was able to find a groove of when my meetings/homework and leaving room for a social life. What works for me is writing down things in a planner for long-term plans and then having a small sticky not on my computer with tasks that need to be accomplished during that week has really helped me stay organized and making sure everything is turned in on time. Most of the activities that I participate in do not meet too late in the evening so it leaves plenty of time to do homework and readings. The routine of classes and my activities are sort of like permanent appointments I have with myself and everything else is time I have to do homework or hang out with friends. Something that has really helped me in trying to get up at the same time every day, around 8 am, and getting the day started early so I have more time throughout the day to hang out with friends and attend my activities in the evenings. Usually, Thursdays are the days I choose to sleep in a little, at around 10 am, since my class doesn’t start until around 2 pm it gives me plenty of time to make lunch and get some homework done. Overall, having a schedule worked out for yourself and trying your best to stick to it has definitely been very beneficial for me and can be very useful to other students who are struggling to find a balance between homework, jobs, internships and a social life!
