Chelsea Mills

Sure, it’s important to not fall behind. But if you overload your schedule with a ton of clubs and DOC trips, it’s easy to realize that you might not even have the time to truly enjoy any of them. Not to mention, this would all be on top of your 3 classes and any office hours that may accompany them. I prioritize what’s important to me, and let go of any “filler” activities that I did just for the sake of doing. I was so excited to try everything at Dartmouth, but I had to be realistic about how much I could juggle at once. It’s totally fine to scale back commitments. Now, I have extra time to pour into the hobbies I'm most passionate about!

I love hanging out with my friends, and I am quick to say “yes” to spending time with them. Yet, my homework awaits. It can be hard to prioritize academics when you also want to make fun memories (Baker is a gorgeous library, but maybe not the place I'd like to spend my entire day). I balance the two by doing homework alongside friends. Studying with friends can help hold yourself accountable. Even if they aren’t in the same class as you, simply being next to someone else might motivate you to finally start doing that textbook reading you’ve been procrastinating. And you’ll have a friend to spend your study breaks with.

As cheesy as it sounds, we do indeed discover ourselves in college. I think I’ve grown a lot after just one term. It’s been helpful for me to keep my overall goals for college in mind. They serve as a motivator to do things that don’t seem as fun short-term. My high-school-senior-self had a couple regrets that she promised to not repeat in college. Maybe you do too. I knew that I wanted to work on exploring my academic interests, which means getting good grades across different subjects to set a strong foundation. Keeping this in mind, it’s easier for me to set my goals into motion today. I urge you to do the same.