The Educated Senior: While juggling life, find time for you
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” This quote comes from Charles Buxton and sums up my entire college career starting from freshman orientation.
Looking back on the past four years I recall being told to “get involved” during freshman orientation. So I got involved and it was the best decision I made. During orientation and my first few weeks at Rider, I joined many clubs and found myself amazing friends, sisters and memories. In fact, I’ve been involved with The Rider News since my first semester freshman year, and it’s all because I made the time.
When I go on interviews, I have so many real-life experiences to relate to when open-ended questions are given to me. I’m sure potential employers would much rather hear “I know how to do that because I was on the newspaper” than “Well, I got a lot of sleep while I was away at school.”
It is true that, besides my friends at The Rider News and Greek life, my daily planner was my best friend throughout my undergrad years because of my busy schedule. I fit a task, meeting or assignment onto every line and margin of each day in my planner and never left room for myself.
Sometimes I’d find myself sitting in class and scheduling in time to eat at Daly’s and blocking out hours for sleep just so I wouldn’t skip another meal or stay up all night again. In fact, if it wasn’t in my planner I didn’t do it.
If you’re like me and follow your planner to a “T,” then you know that in order to watch your favorite TV show, go to dinner with your roommate and sit outside and read a few chapters of a good book, you must schedule it in. But that’s what college is all about.
It’s so easy to give in to the life of late night partying, Nintendo Wii 24 hours a day and the epic nap every afternoon. But, if you get involved in campus activities during your years here at Rider you’ll have so much more to show for it.
While it can be difficult and tiring to manage all the different organizations you’re involved with, a daily planner can help. It will also help if you schedule in time for yourself. This past week I did just that, and I got to see a Phillies game, play a match of tennis and go out to dinner with friends.
I completely agree that without getting involved you will not form a well-rounded resume, you won’t get out-of-class experience and you may not even meet friends that you’ll be in contact with for years to come.
Looking back on the past four years, I wouldn’t change one thing. I’d get involved again if I had the chance to. But I would follow the advice of Charles Buxton and make sure to make some time for myself.
— Lauren Varga
Lauren served as the Managing Editor for the 2006-2007 school year.
