When I was a senior in high school and on the verge of attending college, I received a lot of advice about how to “do college the right way.” Most people mentioned being open to new friends and experiences. Some people told me to always go to class. Others said that I had to get involved in some way or another. One thing everyone agreed upon, though, was that I had to have excellent time management skills.

While I have been able to do all of that so far, I constantly struggle to balance all of it, often with varying degrees of success.

The main reason for this struggle has been heavy involvement in a variety of clubs and activities on campus. Calling it a struggle makes it sound as if it’s all bad, but in reality being heavily involved in college has been both a blessing and a curse.

For example, any time you join a club that requires more than a passive membership after signing up on Quad Day usually promotes new friendships in your life. This is something that I have been able to experience firsthand and is something I will always cherish. However, becoming overly involved in a number of clubs can make your ever-expanding friend group go from being a good thing to being an extra stressor in your life.

What starts as an endless line of social events and relaxing hang outs can end with anxiety over whether to ditch your intramural team’s bar crawl for your club’s annual fundraiser. These are what many people would call “first world problems,” but they are problems nonetheless.

Being involved makes it almost impossible to ever be bored. Depending on what you’re involved in, your weeknights can easily become filled with meetings, practices or performances. For the most part, this can be invigorating. Successfully managing all of this on top of school and your social life can be so rewarding, but sometimes — just sometimes — all you want to do is lay in bed, watch a little Jersey Shore and eat your Jimmy John’s in peace.

The fact that I am 20 years old and just referenced Jersey Shore is telling as to how over-committed I am because I didn’t realize it permanently went off the air in December until writing this piece. Two short years ago I was scheduling my Thursday nights around the show as it was must-see-TV during my freshman year.

Either way, this is a trade-off that must be made when balancing a busy life on campus and, for the most part, it is a good thing.

Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that heavy involvement throughout college can open so many doors. At first, it can open doors on campus in and outside of your organizations to leadership positions, resume-building accomplishments and a general feeling of being a productive member of society. The accomplishments I have achieved outside of the classroom and in clubs have far out-shined much of what I do in class. It has made me appreciate how important the 500-plus registered student organizations on campus can change the trajectory of anyone’s career — regardless of their ability to earn a 4.0 each semester. All it takes is dedication to paying your dues and a willingness to take on the challenges of leadership once in that role.

Although this all sounds like an ideal situation, being a leader can have its downsides. For example, when a major issue or problem comes up requiring action on the part of someone in charge, it doesn’t matter if they have a test the next day, three papers to write or plans to go out that night. You have to be willing to be responsible whenever it’s necessary. While this seems reasonable, many college students would prefer to live up their college years when responsibility isn’t necessary — until graduation, that is.

The key to surviving any of this is balance or at least the pursuit of balance. This might mean consciously scheduling time for different friend groups in your planner. It might mean cramming as much into one day so you can relax the next day over some Jimmy John’s and Honey Boo Boo. Or whichever show is relevant now.

In the end it all evens out and we can all take comfort in knowing we will be working on this balance for the rest of our lives.

John is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected].