Balancing Work, Friendships, and Self-Care as a College Student

 As a college student, it can take time to prioritize your personal life and interests while keeping your academics at the top of your to-do list. Being a full-time student with two jobs has taught me how to balance excelling academically and having fun outside of a school setting. This importance of a healthy balance is something I often neglected as I devoted most of my time to school. However, after making changes in my life to incorporate things I enjoyed, I enhanced my way of living. Here are three tips to find balance in your life to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

The first tip would be to establish your priorities, whether that be school, work, or personal relationships, identifying what is important to you will allow you to navigate your time properly. Trying to balance everything going on in your life isn’t easy, therefore taking a moment to sit back and reflect on the elements in your life that are of most importance is necessary. 

Once you identify your priorities, it is important to create a plan with a time management angle to help you distribute your time accordingly. Before creating a plan of my own, I would often dedicate my time solely to school-affiliated responsibilities, leaving little time for personal hobbies and relationships. Becoming exhausted with my routine, I set up a “rule” for myself to only spend a certain amount of time at school. With the exception of deadlines and study time, I set boundaries to leave spare time for my other priorities. Making sure I was still on top of my academics, I ensured to give myself the opportunity to tap into new hobbies and strengthen relationships.

My last tip is to give yourself grace. Being a college student isn’t easy. Learning to navigate the world as young adults is a job of its own. Therefore, take time aside for yourself to relax and recharge!  

4 Good Habits for the Rest of the Semester

    After spring break, it is just one long steam roll to the end of the semester. It is easy to become overwhelmed and fall off your groove. Here are five habits to help you push through to the end! 

1. Review Notes Right After Class

No one's mind is invincible. If you wait for the day of an exam or quiz to review your notes from class, you will forget most of the information you received. Don’t believe me? It is a fact! It is called The Forgetting Curve. Even by reviewing a couple hours after class, you will significantly retain more information. 

      2.   Create Start Dates for Assignments

    All assignments come with due dates, however something you can create for yourself are start dates. A start date is exactly what it sounds to be, a date you start your assignment. This can be anywhere from two days before the due date to two weeks before. This will help combat procrastination. However, this will only be effective if you physically place the date on the calendar. My tip is to add events to your Canvas calendar, so you can see both start and due dates in one place. 

3. Plan Study Dates Weeks in Advance 

    Studying is extremely important for success on exams! For this reason, the same effort and planning that is put into assignments and projects needs to go into studying. By picking study days weeks in advance you can map out your schedule and set yourself up for success!

4. Use Friends to Hold Yourself Accountable

    If you know that following these tips alone will be hard for you, peer pressure can be a good thing! Even if you don’t have friends in one of your classes, plan homework and study dates with friends who are students. You don’t even need to go to the same school. Sometimes all you need is for someone to help you be accountable, and that’s okay!

    I hope you find these tips helpful, be calm and have a great rest of your semester!

How to prepare for Valentine’s Day while doing long-distance

With Valentine’s coming up, people in relationships are getting excited and planning cute, fun date ideas for the 14th. Unfortunately for me, this year I will spend this holiday away from my boyfriend, but that doesn’t have to mean a sad thing! Here are a few ideas that I’ve come up with to celebrate Valentine’s Day Long Distance Style:

1. Have a Video Chat date!

It could be over FaceTime or Zoom, and you guys can dress up and have dinner together in your respective locations! You can also download some Google Chrome add-ons to watch movies together simultaneously, like TeleParty from Netflix or Scener for any streaming service. You could even look up games online and play together while video-chatting; I recommend Sketchful.io or a virtual escape room game!

2. Have someone deliver something to your partner.

If any family member or friend lives nearby your significant other, ask them to go get something as a favor. It can be candy, flowers, or a little something that will make their day. If this option isn’t available for you, have a delivery service do it for you. It can be dinner via Postmates or flowers via a flower delivery company, you get the idea.

3. Write a virtual love letter.

Handwritten love letters are always the best, but if you’re long-distance, go crazy on Canva! Choose a cute template, pick out a pretty font, add different elements or photos, and you’ve got yourself a virtual love letter! Make sure to write something meaningful that comes from the heart.

4. Be present throughout the day.

Keep in mind that Valentine’s can be a day that can make your partner a little sad because they miss you and wish they could spend the day with you, so be thoughtful and send them messages throughout the day to let them know you’re thinking about them. This will make your significant other feel loved and appreciated.

5. Host a Galentine’s.

If the time difference is an issue for a video chat date, get together with your dearest friends and celebrate together. Back in Mexico, where I’m from, we describe Valentine’s day as “the day of love and friendship”, so why not have a cute date with your friends? If you’ve got no idea how to do #Galentines, search it up on TikTok! Tons of girls are going above and beyond, doing different types of lunch/dinner dates during February. It definitely looks fun and aesthetically pleasing.

Although Valentine’s is a cute, little tradition that’s been going on since the year 270 C.E. (common era), nowadays it’s used as a form of capitalism, so don’t give it too much thought or let it define your mood! Valentine’s can be great if you don’t take it too seriously, just maintain good communication with your partner, and enjoy yourself.

I hope these ideas come in handy for you for the approaching holiday! :)