BRIONA SAAS
Special to The Leader
Hello to all my fellow students at Fredonia! I hope you’ve been working hard with dedication this semester. I also hope you’ve found some free time to relieve yourself of the stress most of us have already encountered.
I know after a long week of school, the only thing on our mind is the weekend. We can’t wait to start to calm down and find fun things to do like going out with our friends. If you’re not the “going-out” type, I’m sure you’ve found your own stress reliever that makes you happy.
I know it can be a lot of pressure to make the college experience fun and make every weekend worth it. A lot of people make it look easy to effortlessly balance the party life with grades. Sure, maybe a superhero can do it, but no one is expecting us to. Set your own expectations when balancing school time and playtime. Don’t sell yourself short of your abilities; however, set them high, because I know all of you are capable of accomplishing anything.
For those of you who like to go out on weekends but also find it hard to say no to joining your friends when they go out … stand your ground. If you know you have a lot of work and not enough time to join, take control of the situation, and don’t fall into the trap of peer pressure, as hard as it can be. Your friends are not going to be taking that test for you Monday and, unless they are, they have no right to make you feel bad for not joining. So make the right decision — you owe it to yourself to do the best you can.
Maybe your friends aren’t pressuring you, and it’s your own subconscious making excuses to skip out on studying. As much fun as it might have been, we all know we wish we could go back to the times when we could have studied but didn’t, so avoid the disappointed and guilty feeling of receiving a bad grade.
If it’s something that can be avoided, for example, by studying instead of partying … it’s so worth not going out for. Weigh your options wisely; a smile because of a good grade is always a great feeling!
If going out is a priority to you, start making it a reward for hard work. Put Netflix and naps aside, and start working ahead if the weekends mean that much to you. You won’t feel as guilty for going out and having fun if all of your work is done. Also, after a long week of hard work, a fun weekend out is a great payment.
Not all of us are comfortable with the party scene that is so common in college. With that lifestyle comes a lot of pressure from friends and social media. It can be hard feeling like you’re different by not participating, but it should never push you to do something you normally wouldn’t.
The truth of the matter is, NOT everyone is doing it. Participating won’t make you better, and it won’t make you worse. Stick to your guns, and be yourself. Most people will respect and admire the fact that you’re staying true to yourself. Sacrificing our own morals for the sake of others’ approval is not a healthy way of living.
We must be independent in our decisions and think about what’s best for us before thinking of anyone else. Our choices affect us directly and others secondarily. So, why base the important decisions we might make on other people’s opinions, when we end up with the consequences?
Remain faithful to yourself, and the rest of the answers will fall into place.