I still cannot believe the time that a college lifestyle demands of you. I am writing this on a Saturday, and I haven’t experienced anything that could be considered a normal weekend activity yet. I haven’t read for pleasure, no music just for the sole sake of music, no watching TV or movies and very little talking to friends online (I do that during the week as it is). Being a college student is not as easy as it sounds, not unless you’re someone who pushes assignments off and doesn’t worry about them and instead goes out to party. There’s no way that all of these students I see going out don’t have any homework.
Two weeks ago, for example, my History professor encouraged us to begin reading Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle on a Wednesday and expected us to finish it by Monday of the next week, giving a quiz on that Monday. The quiz was taken off Angel on that Wednesday, so in other words, we had less than a week to read a 395 page novel, which is pretty slow and dry, mind you. This is especially ridiculous when you keep in mind that there are other assignments as well, such as reading out of the textbook, not to mention work for other classes. It just frustrates me when professors seem to think that their course is the only one you’re taking.
I’m not going to lie. Although, for the most part, I get all of my work done, there have been times where I have skipped over a minor reading or something like that, because I just don’t find it possible to complete every single assignment and read every single assigned reading that you receive. This Saturday, today, I have done nothing but read and write all day. It’s a bit much sometimes.
However, as strenuous and as stressful as college is sometimes, I have my mind on the winning prize, which is the success and the happiness that college is going to result in. I want to be a high school English teacher one day soon, and all of this work is helping me achieve that. That’s what I’m keeping in mind. So far, keeping that in mind is working. I just wish I had more time to enjoy and less to stress about. I am wondering if this is a relatively common concern of the average college student or if I’m doing something wrong.