Advice from a Senior
I have less than three weeks left of being a student in Oxford and I’ve been feeling very reflective lately. In the spring, I will be participating in the IMS Digital Innovation program in San Francisco. While I’ll still be a Miami student, my days of walking the brick streets and studying in King Library are coming to an end.
In all of the reflection I’ve been doing, something I’ve been thinking a lot about is balance. Since my sophomore year, I have worked two jobs, held a leadership position in my student organization, and been a full-time student. While I love to be busy, trying to juggle all of these responsibilities can be overwhelming at times. It took me a long time to understand why balance is so important to being successful, so hopefully, you can learn from my experiences.
Academics
Being a college student means school should be your first priority. Emphasis on the word should. I know better than anyone that it can be hard to put school first when jobs and friends also require your attention. However, when I succeed academically, I feel successful. That should be obvious, but I get it. We are all busy! Other things can take priority, but I promise if you give school the time it deserves, you will feel more fulfilled overall.
Friendships
Let me say something I wish someone said to me freshman year: everyone struggles to make friends in college at some point. I didn’t meet some of my closest friends until sophomore year. Everyone’s journey is different. Another piece of advice I have is to put time and effort into your friendships. Unlike high school, you may not see your friends every day if you aren’t intentional about it. Schedule time to take breaks from school and work and spend time with your friends.
Work
Here’s the thing. A lot of people work in college. It doesn’t always feel that way, especially when your friends are getting dinner and you have to stay in and study because you have an early morning shift. I got my first job on campus sophomore year of college working in an office. While I have learned a lot professionally, I also became friends with the other students in my office and having a consistent source of income is nice too! The key to balancing work and school life? Time management. Try using Google calendar for a few days and I promise your life will be changed. Reserving time for each of your obligations ensures you are prioritizing the right things at the right time.
As you can hopefully tell from this article, I love Miami and I will miss Oxford dearly when I am in California. I have learned so much here and I am truly jealous of the students who don’t even know what is ahead of them. There will be ups and downs throughout your time here, but you will get through it and probably make some pretty great friends along the way.
Hannah Frier | Marketing
