A Typical Day Of A Student At The University Of New Hampshire
With over 15,000 students inhabiting the same campus, going about your daily life in college can get pretty difficult. There are so many things to balance within an essentially 16-18 hour day, the stress adds up fairly quickly. Amongst the chaos college creates, hopefully lies a balance of chaos and relaxation so you don’t get too caught up in this 4 year roller coaster that is college. Here is a breakdown of a typical day of a student at The University of New Hampshire!
Waking up in time to get ready and get (a normal) breakfast all before an 8 am? Seems easy…not.
It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult, but believe me when I say, I have discovered that it is more difficult than I thought. As a freshman, I have a lot of things to figure out and adjust to in college. In high school, I was so used to my daily routine of getting up before the sun to get ready and start my day, as everyday was essentially the same. In college, every day brings an array of new things, which make each day new and exciting. Now, waking up before the sun does is next to impossible. I wake up between 7:00 and 9:00 am and college me thinks that’s crazy early.
High school me would think that’s a blessing, but clearly things have changed. I wake up, groan my way out of bed and into the shower where I spend my time wasting water by singing and thinking to myself how I will make it through this day as I remember I have 3 years following this one. I get myself ready, which 2 days out of the 5 in a business week, consists of me wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt with my hair up. Now that its 7:30, I decide whether or not I have time to get breakfast at the dining hall, or if it will be cereal again for me. I usually end up with cereal. I finish my bowl as I walk out my door to head to my first class of the day. My day is just beginning, so I better fix my resting bitch face before I leave my dorm. I put my headphones in, start to blare uplifting songs, put a smile on my face, and I start my day.
Finding time to do homework: is this a joke?
With classes being done at 3 pm, leaves the whole afternoon to study and do homework; you would think. But in reality, there is a mountain of other things you have to get done before you even think about starting your homework. For me, luckily I have found a balance between going about my chaotic day, and doing homework. I learned early to set my priorities straight so that I can allow myself the proper amount of time to focus on academics and succeed; something many people wish they could do.
It has always been important to me, even before college, to make sure I understand whats being expected of me so that I can be successful and start good habits for myself. For many, making/finding time for homework seems so hard when you think about everything you have to do at once. But if you are anything like me, writing a “To Do” list with everything you have to do on it, and setting aside times to complete those tasks, really helps when getting things done in college.
But what about feeding my stomach that has been yelling at me for hours?
With all these things to do, we sometimes forget that we need to feed ourselves. We become so busy with our daily tasks, that food doesn’t seem like a necessity. We start to notice how truly hungry we are around 1 pm, as we try to study, or do that homework assignment, or sit in a class that became SO hard to pay attention to. It’s easier in the morning to quickly grab breakfast, but during the day when things start to pick up, we tend to lose time to studying or finishing up last minute assignments, that we can’t find the time to fill our stomachs with food.
So you grab a snack, vacuum it down, and continue to go about your day patiently awaiting your next chance at a real meal. In college, majority of students end up eating an abundance of snacks than actual meals because it’s easier and less time consuming, a college students two favorite things. Two common “snacks” that every college students understands, are microwavable mac and cheese, and, drum roll… ramen. These two foods are key for every college student who is running late, wants a midnight snack, has a class during dinner time, or just enjoys them.
I thought I was going to have time for the gym.. apparently not…
Everyone thinks about it. That thing we hate going to, but have to in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yup, you got it; the gym. By the time you get through all of the things you were stressing about by maybe 8:00 pm if you’re lucky, you may just have an hour to squeeze in for the gym. You really should study, or get that essay done, but the gym is a reoccurring thought in the back of your mind and even though you don’t want to go, you know you should because it gives you a break from all the stress, and helps you to feel better about yourself by the end of the day.
Some people choose to go to the gym early in the morning, but I find that for me, going at the end of the day after all of my tasks are over, helps to wind down my day of chaos and helps get my mind stable, which is really important before a good night sleep. Oh but wait, you still have more homework on top of everything you’ve already done thus far, that you have to finish after the gym. So you get back from the gym and you still have to shower and do your personal things. Finally, after all that is over, you can finish your homework… maybe. But hey, atlas you got a good work out in.
Well now that it’s 1 am, I should probably go to bed…
That time has come. You look at your phone and see that it’s 1 am. You contemplate even going to bed because you have so much to do, but know that in order for you to survive any other day of the week following this one, sleep is much needed. You’ve done so much homework, you feel as though your head could explode, but yet you still think about the things you have yet to complete which stresses you out. But, you decide to take mental break before you have a mental breakdown, and sleep it off. But of course, you find that you can’t fall asleep because your mind is running a mile a minute causing you to count unfinished assignments than sheep.
