Philosophical Musing #9
I think my perspective regarding university life has completely changed during the last month or so. I always regarded the academic aspect of university the most important component, and I tried my best to focus on that component entirely. Studying was my first priority, and everything came second to that. It wasn't necessarily entirely because of my nerdy side manifesting itself, but also due to wanting to meet my parents' expectations. Whether I missed some points away from 100% on my exams or tests didn't matter much to myself as much as the desire to be report to my parents that their daughter managed to get the best mark and grade.
However, I met this girl from Canada, and in the beginning of the term she kept going on about how important it is to have a good balance between free time, social life and univiersity studies, especially in a course as demanding and stressful as medicine. She never said no to do fun things, and always encouraged us to participate in events. She said if we spent some time away from our books, we would come back more motivated to learn than if we had never parted from our books. She is a little older (and hence wiser!) than me, and she has already done an undergraduate degree. However, she did not enjoy her first university experience because, according to her, all she did was practically study. This time around, her second experience in university, she said she would never let her studies consume her life again. I found that she was right regarding how you are more motivated to study if you take breaks or do other things in between. I found myself to be a lot quicker and time-efficient if I did not spend an entire weekend at home learning anatomy and physiology.
At the same time, I joined the gym and started going to gym classes. In the beginning I went swimming in the pool with the sole aim of exercising. I did not enjoy swimming at all, because it was such a solitary activity, but I carried on for a while as I wanted to do some kind of exercise. Then when I couldn't stand swimming solitarily all the time anymore, I tried out some different gym classes. I had a lot of fun doing these classes, and met new people. My favourite class at the moment is Boxercise, closely followed by Active Circuit and Step. Who knew (attempting to) box could be so fun (and effing tiring!)?! I even joined the Beginner's Squash Class, and I can now successfully serve (I couldn't do that by my last blog entry yet). I now try to go to a gym class everyday, and I enjoy the classes (unlike swimming). They are not all high intensity classes, but just something to get some endorphins circling in my system. It really helps to alleviate stress, I recommend it to everyone.
My boyfriend has been going through some rough periods for the last few years, including some serious things like losing people in his life. He's now become a very laid back person and always tell me to not stress out too much.
With these influences, I am trying to find a new balance between my studies and free time. I am not saying that university and my studies are not as important, but they are not my sole first priorities anymore. I prioritise my free time and my happiness alongside my studies. I have a new rule for myself: never skip a social event or a gym class, or anything that would make me happy, due to studies (unless I have an exam the next morning, cause it might be sensible to stay in the night before and get a good night's sleep!). My Canadian friend and I also have a rule, a one laugh a day rule - so we try to do something fun everyday. From my boyfriend's experiences, I have witnessed that we really have a limited amount of days, and all we can do is make the best of them.
So from now on I shall attempt to find a balance between:
- Studying
- Attending fun events
- Volunteering
- Attending gym classes
- Cooking (I'm very into cooking at the moment, you should try my scrambled eggs!)
P.S. Found a lovely quote the other day written on a postcard: "Turning upside down makes you happy because the sad feelings get all dizzy and fall out" - loved it!
However, I met this girl from Canada, and in the beginning of the term she kept going on about how important it is to have a good balance between free time, social life and univiersity studies, especially in a course as demanding and stressful as medicine. She never said no to do fun things, and always encouraged us to participate in events. She said if we spent some time away from our books, we would come back more motivated to learn than if we had never parted from our books. She is a little older (and hence wiser!) than me, and she has already done an undergraduate degree. However, she did not enjoy her first university experience because, according to her, all she did was practically study. This time around, her second experience in university, she said she would never let her studies consume her life again. I found that she was right regarding how you are more motivated to study if you take breaks or do other things in between. I found myself to be a lot quicker and time-efficient if I did not spend an entire weekend at home learning anatomy and physiology.
At the same time, I joined the gym and started going to gym classes. In the beginning I went swimming in the pool with the sole aim of exercising. I did not enjoy swimming at all, because it was such a solitary activity, but I carried on for a while as I wanted to do some kind of exercise. Then when I couldn't stand swimming solitarily all the time anymore, I tried out some different gym classes. I had a lot of fun doing these classes, and met new people. My favourite class at the moment is Boxercise, closely followed by Active Circuit and Step. Who knew (attempting to) box could be so fun (and effing tiring!)?! I even joined the Beginner's Squash Class, and I can now successfully serve (I couldn't do that by my last blog entry yet). I now try to go to a gym class everyday, and I enjoy the classes (unlike swimming). They are not all high intensity classes, but just something to get some endorphins circling in my system. It really helps to alleviate stress, I recommend it to everyone.
My boyfriend has been going through some rough periods for the last few years, including some serious things like losing people in his life. He's now become a very laid back person and always tell me to not stress out too much.
With these influences, I am trying to find a new balance between my studies and free time. I am not saying that university and my studies are not as important, but they are not my sole first priorities anymore. I prioritise my free time and my happiness alongside my studies. I have a new rule for myself: never skip a social event or a gym class, or anything that would make me happy, due to studies (unless I have an exam the next morning, cause it might be sensible to stay in the night before and get a good night's sleep!). My Canadian friend and I also have a rule, a one laugh a day rule - so we try to do something fun everyday. From my boyfriend's experiences, I have witnessed that we really have a limited amount of days, and all we can do is make the best of them.
So from now on I shall attempt to find a balance between:
- Studying
- Attending fun events
- Volunteering
- Attending gym classes
- Cooking (I'm very into cooking at the moment, you should try my scrambled eggs!)
P.S. Found a lovely quote the other day written on a postcard: "Turning upside down makes you happy because the sad feelings get all dizzy and fall out" - loved it!
