Victoria Gricks

After taking a deep breath and zipping my coat as high as possible, I pushed the door open and held it for my friend. I wished I could stay inside a little longer to keep warm, but I was starving.

Stepping outside, I noticed that the temperature wasn’t as low as usual. Once that thought crossed my mind, however, the wind picked up.

This didn’t really bother me, though. All I had to do was put my hood up and the wind was blocked. I looked like an Eskimo straight from Alaska, but at least my face wasn’t cold.

As we made our way to Egan, we started talking about our schedules for the next term. When I was done bragging about mine – I only have to go to class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and I work for a few hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays – I asked my friend about his plans.

When he was finished telling me about his classes, I told him that they didn’t seem that bad. He started to laugh, however, and proceeded to inform me of the rest of his agenda.

Following a minute’s worth of explanation, I stopped him from speaking and asked if he was crazy. His list of activities was never-ending. With all the things he will be doing, he’ll rarely have a free moment.

If I were him, I would be stressed beyond belief just thinking about the spring. Knowing that I would always be busy would make me tense, and the winter term isn’t even over yet.

Let me say this as simply as I can: Do not let yourself get too overwhelmed. Life isn’t all about school – sorry, professors. You need a balance of work and play. Time should be set aside so that you can have fun every once in a while.

I’m not telling you to stop caring about college, because you can’t do that. What I am saying is that you should try to make sure that you enjoy life and don’t make it too hectic.

I know from experience that having no fun can make life boring. In high school, all I did was study and work. That’s it. Now, though, I study, work, and leave time for relaxation. And let me tell you that I like it that way. You will, too.