Finding the Right Balance Between Academic and Social Life

DESIGN: KAZI AKIB BIN ASAD

Reconsider the times you spent an awful amount of time only studying. As a student, studying is essential, I agree. However, have people (especially Bangladeshi parents) stopped to think that life for the youth is so much more than "porashona"?

Time management is imperative. Forget what procrastination is and focus on what is essential to you as an individual. Press your ears and listen to none but yourself. As clichéd as it sounds, follow your heart. You will never regret using your heart as a map, especially when you are lost and in dire need of a guide. Your youth cannot be salvaged once it passes. So, I urge you to find your voice.

It is alright to go at your own pace because life is not a race but having a definite routine can help make sure you are on the right track. If you are interested in something, it is likely that you will be attracted to it like a magnet. Attraction is inevitable. Once you discover your forte, keep brushing upon it to prevent your skill(s) from becoming rusty.

Invest your free time in video calling or at least texting friends and family to stay in touch. Cherish your connections. Pour the significant amount you spend on social media to events that will keep you engaged with the brighter side of life. If you are an introvert, you can definitely immerse yourself in books because sometimes we socialise better with fictional characters than actual people.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to go out there, show what you have to offer the world and fly free like a butterfly out of your cocoon instead of keeping to yourself, which might deliver warmth but will always restrict you from the beauty of life. Who likes restrictions anyway?

Search for the right balance. There are people who pull all-nighters, forgo all sorts of leisure activities and entirely focus on school grades only. I believe this is absolutely unhealthy, both physically and mentally.

Nawal Naz, soon flying off to start her undergraduate studies at Yale University this fall, says, "I think for the students who focus solely on grades, it's important for them to understand that there's a life beyond the margins of a textbook."

She adds, "I agree with you: it's very unhealthy and I have gone through that myself and I have nothing but regrets. There's a world beyond academic pursuit and I think the sooner we start to realise that, the less regrets we'll have."

There must be something that attracts you. Do not repel if you hate repentances. Acing grades can become easier if you are happy and happiness arrives along with peace. The latter can be truly sensed only when the see-saw called life is balanced.    

Ayra Areeba Abid's favourite word is 'serendipity' and she's a linguistics geek. Connect with her at [email protected]