How to choose between a social life, good grades and enough sleep

Leila Durmaz is a journalism freshman and Mustang Daily freshman columnist.

Who would ever think to complain about being surrounded by your friends literally every second of the day? As freshmen, we’ve already gone through so many adjustments: having to adapt to wearing slippers in the shower all the time, figuring out how and what to eat on Saturdays when most of campus dining is closed and, of course, being with our friends constantly.

Though these are all big changes, the first two things listed are arguably the most annoying to adjust to, but having some friends right across the hall or just a two-minute walk away is amazing. Living in the residence halls or apartments is nice because you can ask anyone what is going on inside or on and off campus, and you will always find something to do; there has not been one time where I have been bored, because I’m always with people or I have work to do.

But, while having people to hang out with constantly is great, it can be really hard. Probably one of the hardest adjustments of coming to college, that we don’t really think about, is time management.

Juggling a social life, sleep and school work is somewhat ridiculous when you know you want to hang out, but should study for that midterm that’s staring you down. I guess that’s why they say that, in college, you’ll have to “choose two out of the three: social life, good grades or enough sleep.”

Which two would you choose? I wanted all three, as anyone would. So when I first heard of that little “rule” above, I thought it was complete nonsense, and I would definitely be able to balance all three without question. It took me a while to get over my self-denial — I’m only a little bit stubborn, I promise — and finally realize that the rule does exist and is 100 percent true.

Just the other day, I had to turn down a tanning session with a friend just so I could start studying for a midterm, and let me tell you, that took a lot of self-control. There will always be time for more tanning later since we are in sunny San Luis Obispo.

It’s difficult having to consciously balance out your schedule with a planner you’ll actually have to use, whereas, in high school, we were able to spend class time working on our homework and had no trouble doing it the night before while getting to hang out with our friends after school. But no matter how difficult, it’s worth buying and consistently using a planner to organize your schedule so that you can break that “college rule,” as I’m determined to. That sounds dorky, but it is probably the best way to at least get through freshman year. Because to get good grades, you need an adequate amount of sleep, and to have a good social life, you need to be able to stay awake. Unless you’re one of the very few who work well off of a little amount of sleep, then please, show me your ways because I definitely can’t.

Obviously, pulling off this balancing act will be super hard just because we have so much time to ourselves and can literally do something with our friends whenever we want, but I’m pretty sure none of us want to retake classes next quarter. So get a planner and schedule your days, your weeks and, maybe, your months. Allot some time to work on your homework or study for your midterms after class. Schedule some naps into your week for those days you’re really busy and make sure you get a good (your definition of “good”) amount of sleep. And lastly, but definitely not least, make some time for your social life, so you don’t become a hermit in college, especially your freshman year which should be your best.

So start the year off right and break that silly “college rule” with a balanced — or almost balanced — schedule, that consists of a great social life, great grades and enough sleep to conquer the world.