Compared to someone who just started college, one year makes quite a difference. I have grown more confident in my ability to conduct myself and in my time management.
Coming into college just over a year ago, I approached everything with the excitement and fascination of a young child and got as involved as I could. Although this served me well in terms of finding my people, it resulted in my overbooking myself. I have since realized I find more fulfillment when I dedicate more energy and time to a few things rather than less time to many things. This growth and learning came slowly throughout my first year at Hopkins. I started by signing up for as many clubs and activities as I could. I was super excited to receive emails from so many different activities and attend different general body meetings until there came a day in October when I realized I somehow had three general body meetings at the exact same time. As much as I would have liked to, I could not attend all of them. From that point on, I was regularly asked to prioritize and choose where I wanted to spend my time.
This year—my third semester—at Hopkins, I made it a point to commit to only the things I am truly passionate about. I began experimenting with saying no and setting boundaries for myself and my time. Now, I am very involved in A Place to Talk (a peer listening service on campus), Tutorial Project though the Center for Social Concern, and Club Swimming. Very quickly, I realized that choosing to focus on fewer things allows me to experience things to a much greater extent. I had time to go to the bonding events of each of my organizations, forging deeper connections with people that I previously only knew by name. I now regularly go to yoga and study with my co-captains and teammates on swim that I previously only saw in the pool. I had some incredibly close friends with me during my first year at Hopkins, but it was difficult managing both my relationship with them and academic and extracurricular responsibilities. This year, I can safely say that I have developed stronger relationships than ever before as a result of the time that I can spend with each of them.
Now, instead of running between club meetings after classes, I can spend a quality few hours at a time with each of my commitments. Three times a week, I spend two hours in the pool with my team, and I can agree to a spontaneous post-practice ice cream trip instead of running home to attend another meeting. In addition to having more time to dedicate to the things I love, I now also have the capacity to engage in completely optional, but arguably the most fun, activities. Looking back, if I had one piece of advice to offer my younger self, I would remind her that her first year, and especially her first semester, are times meant for exploration. These upcoming few months are the perfect time for you to try many things and realize that you are allowed to feel more connected to some things over others! Although it might seem daunting to pull away from an activity, it is completely valid and understandable to do so.
