Whether we’re freshmen or seniors, most of us start the new school year with goals, ambitions and sometimes even more concerns. Freshmen may come in worried about being away from home or facing college in general, while seniors are just worried about staying sane. Sophomores and juniors are likely somewhere in between.
No matter where you are in your college career, it’s important to remember that most of us will only be here four years. Those insanely stressful classes or the price of textbooks is not what we’ll remember after we graduate. We’ll remember our friends, the faculty and staff that truly made an impact, and, most importantly, we’ll remember our experiences.
As most OCU students know, we tend to be “over committed,” but we also should try to take time for ourselves. It’s okay to not be in every organization possible on campus, perform in every show or not go to every social event. Our experiences include things as simple as nights with friends or a visit from family.
Our advice is to take every opportunity you can. Everyone is busy, and there’s never going to be a good time to take that dance class you’ve wanted to try, go to a sporting event, or take a day off to visit the Oklahoma City Zoo, Science Museum of Oklahoma, or the Oklahoma City Boathouse District. So just do it.
That definitely doesn’t mean you should slack off and ignore your work, but it is much better to end up feeling like you’re doing too much for yourself than to feel like you should’ve done more.
If you feel like you’re missing out on life because all you do is wake up, go to classes and activities, then go back to your dorm to sleep, then you probably are. We think the only way to graduate and be successful is to do every possible thing for our degrees and our university, but we don’t consider that we might be putting so much into school that we’re harming ourselves in the process. 
Here are a few tips to help maintain a busy schedule, while still taking care of yourself:
Wake up earlier, even if it’s just an extra 30 minutes. You can take that longer shower, go for a run or just take a little extra time drinking your morning coffee.
If you can do it in silence, science shows you’ll feel more relaxed all day. If you’re like us and like to listen to music or watch TV in the mornings, then just do it. Don’t worry about what science tells you is best for you during that short amount of time. Just enjoy yourself.
Waking up earlier makes your day longer, but in the best way possible. And if you decide you need that second cup of coffee to do so, do it and don’t feel ashamed.
Plan. Buy yourself a nice planner or calendar and write everything down you absolutely have to do. From there, see what days you have available and plan out a road trip or just write down “me time.”
It seems silly to plan out your fun times or the times for yourself, but it really helps. If someone wants you to do something on the weekend your “me time” is scheduled, oh well. You already have plans. As we get older, we start to realize plans with ourselves are definitely a thing.
That brings us to the next point, make “me time.” Your schedule is probably crazy and reading “what days you have available” probably makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time, but just make the time, even if it’s an hour long bath on Saturday nights instead of going out. Find time for yourself anywhere you can. Without that “me time,” you can’t actually take care of yourself and your own sanity, so just do it. You’ll feel better and be able to take care of everything else you have to do more efficiently while feeling good enough to do the fun things too.
Finally, take care of yourself physically. Try to drink a gallon of water a day, eat healthy, go for a walk or workout for at least 30 minutes, get at least six hours of sleep at night, and take time to relax.
Working out can be included in your “me time” if it’s what you enjoy doing, but if you hate working out, do it on top of your “me time” so you don’t feel more miserable about your schedule.
For some, the rest of these suggestions may seem kind of crazy, but it’s all worth it.
The more you take care of yourself, the better ability you have to take care of other people or things. However, don’t be afraid to treat yourself every so often. Eat that extra slice of pizza, get an ice cream cone at lunch, or get the chocolate cake for dessert because, after all, life is too short to be left feeling like you missed out on those experiences, and that extra piece of cake may be what keeps your sanity intact.
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