happiness

[primedgal]

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I talked to one of my professors last week and he was saying how it's important to let go of immediate pleasures in life - especially when you are young... and focus on your responsibility first. that ensuring security and happiness later in life is more important than things that make you happy for a few minutes or hours - such as partying and whatnot.

Ideally that is completely true.


but in practice, it's a whole different story. How do you balance studying and socializing and having fun? I mean, when I study hard, I tend to be somewhat more antisocial. Although being a bit antisocial sometimes lets me study more effectively, by the time tests come, I see other people enjoying college and I feel like I should be able to experience that as well. and in the end I either study too much or not enough for the test - and still not end up getting good grades. other times I spend too much time hanging out with friends, and watching movies that I don't study enough and start getting bad grades.

I just want to be happy and still get good grades. and sacrificing my social life for that gets me into social conflicts with my friends. Is wanting both really too much to ask?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I talked to one of my professors last week and he was saying how it's important to let go of immediate pleasures in life - especially when you are young... and focus on your responsibility first. that ensuring security and happiness later in life is more important than things that make you happy for a few minutes or hours - such as partying and whatnot.

Ideally that is completely true.


but in practice, it's a whole different story. How do you balance studying and socializing and having fun? I mean, when I study hard, I tend to be somewhat more antisocial. Although being a bit antisocial sometimes lets me study more effectively, by the time tests come, I see other people enjoying college and I feel like I should be able to experience that as well. and in the end I either study too much or not enough for the test - and still not end up getting good grades. other times I spend too much time hanging out with friends, and watching movies that I don't study enough and start getting bad grades.

I just want to be happy and still get good grades. and sacrificing my social life for that gets me into social conflicts with my friends. Is wanting both really too much to ask?

Yes!!!

No not really... You just gotta pick and chose which party to go to.

 

[135892]

This is why you don't speak with professors...

 

[dArroway]

primedgal,

it is different for each individual. i don't really balance well either and have been successful yet i think if i would have been balanced i probably would have scored the exact same grades. but that's just me.

however if you struggle then you must decide if you want:

A) simple college enjoyment

or

B) a M.D.

 

[dArroway]

Btw,

are You The Same Person As Premedgal?

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

Do not become a "pre-med junkie". That's the lamest thing ever. Enjoy your youth, pleasure, and happiness. Not being happy in your youth will make you a bitter older person.

What it sounds like the problem is to me is that you haven't found a good study method. Find out what studying techniques work best and you'll be studying a lot less. You can find information online, and even quick quizzes, to determine the most appropriate way you should be studying.

 

[Zyvox]

I talked to one of my professors last week and he was saying how it's important to let go of immediate pleasures in life - especially when you are young... and focus on your responsibility first. that ensuring security and happiness later in life is more important than things that make you happy for a few minutes or hours - such as partying and whatnot.

Ideally that is completely true.


but in practice, it's a whole different story. How do you balance studying and socializing and having fun? I mean, when I study hard, I tend to be somewhat more antisocial. Although being a bit antisocial sometimes lets me study more effectively, by the time tests come, I see other people enjoying college and I feel like I should be able to experience that as well. and in the end I either study too much or not enough for the test - and still not end up getting good grades. other times I spend too much time hanging out with friends, and watching movies that I don't study enough and start getting bad grades.

I just want to be happy and still get good grades. and sacrificing my social life for that gets me into social conflicts with my friends. Is wanting both really too much to ask?

Working toward a career in medicine is going to mean prioritizing your time and somehow cutting down on the socializing (although I wouldn't say sacrificing). Getting into medical school doesn't exactly translate into the care-free life you sound like you would want to have.

Work on your time managment skills, that's the most helpful piece of advice I can give you, oh and...

You have to realize that what you want and what you need are entirely two different things.

Good luck

 

[dienekes88]

OP, roll with a solid crowd. You don't have to go to frat parties to have a social life. Study hard then unwind once a week with some mellow party-type action.

Btw,

are You The Same Person As Premedgal?

That was my first reaction too...

 

[JA Prufrock]

happiness is a luxury some of us can't afford. perhaps that speaks more to the value of our happiness more than anything.

 

[HumidBeing]

Btw,

are You The Same Person As Premedgal?

That was my first reaction too...

Maybe I have a warped mind tonight. I translated her screen name as 'Primed Gal'. I thought she was hinting that, uh, you know, she was ready. Then I thought that maybe that was an accident & she didn't realize how that name might be misinterpreted.

 

[Salsa45]

Maybe I have a warped mind tonight. I translated her screen name as 'Primed Gal'. I thought she was hinting that, uh, you know, she was ready. Then I thought that maybe that was an accident & she didn't realize how that name might be misinterpreted.

In high school I didn't care about grades. I did okay and I had a lot of fun.

In university I care about grades. My social life is greatly, greatly, greatly diminished, but I get good grades.

If you want good grades in premed, I don't think you can expect to have more than weekends off. Comparing our social lives to the general studies major next door is inevitably frustrating.

 

[HumidBeing]

Totally off topic. Which type of Salsa are you, the dance or condiment?

(It's Saturday night. Off topic is normal.)

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

I think she wanted "Premedgal" but the name was already taken. So, like, she thought "Pri-" would be cute.

I don't know. I can't read through the lines. I can't handle the pressure! Stop giving me that look!

 

[Cegar]

Easy solution: Study something you enjoy.

 

[phenomalove]

Well well! Insert cliche *~everyone-is-an-individual~* thing here.

You have choices to make, and you have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice. In this case, you can go down a crapload of paths. HOWEVA! When it comes down to it, your personality will do the work for you. If you're naturally responsible and gunny but anti-social, you will probably just do your work and avoid social situations -- simply because that's who you are. If you are a hardcore slacker but love to party, you're going to have poopoo grades and killer stories about how you passed out in some girl's rack.

It gets tough though, when you don't know who you are (which is common for kiddos like us :[). If you're able to balance it, with the standard work-hard play-hard jawn, DO IT HOMES. I do, and it's pretty exhilarating. You can burn out sometimes, but glamorizing it will alleviate the crappiness of it. Sad, but true.

Also, try this: Savor everything. The good AND the bad. Relish in the torture you're experiencing, because when the clamps come off, it'll be that much sweeter. Ja ja.

...I'm so not a masochist though.

 

[pride4jc727]

primedgal,

Honestly, I think this is a personal decision that you need to make. Yes, college is a time in which you become independent for the first time and thus comes a lot of responsibility. No one is going to tell you to study X amount of hours, while you party or relax for Y amount of hours. You are going to have sit down and kind of make a time budget of what things you are going to do. I know of several people who work their a$$es off on the weekdays and then party hard on the weekends. If you get a set schedule down and adhere to it, I think you can be both studious and social. You might have to explain to your friends that you cannot go out every night because you have goals that you want to achieve and that one bad grade or one bad course grade can knock you off the path that you are hoping to achieve.

However, if you think that your social life is compromising your academic performance and life outlook, you are going to have to change your paradigm temporarily to get your grades back up. Once that happens, slowly work your social life back into the routine. In the, end you will only get so much as you put into it in the first place.

 

[Borophyll]

I talked to one of my professors last week and he was saying how it's important to let go of immediate pleasures in life - especially when you are young... and focus on your responsibility first. that ensuring security and happiness later in life is more important than things that make you happy for a few minutes or hours - such as partying and whatnot.

Ideally that is completely true.


but in practice, it's a whole different story. How do you balance studying and socializing and having fun? I mean, when I study hard, I tend to be somewhat more antisocial. Although being a bit antisocial sometimes lets me study more effectively, by the time tests come, I see other people enjoying college and I feel like I should be able to experience that as well. and in the end I either study too much or not enough for the test - and still not end up getting good grades. other times I spend too much time hanging out with friends, and watching movies that I don't study enough and start getting bad grades.

I just want to be happy and still get good grades. and sacrificing my social life for that gets me into social conflicts with my friends. Is wanting both really too much to ask?

 

[tiedyeddog]

lol

 

[wisconsindoctor]

I talked to one of my professors last week and he was saying how it's important to let go of immediate pleasures in life - especially when you are young... and focus on your responsibility first. that ensuring security and happiness later in life is more important than things that make you happy for a few minutes or hours - such as partying and whatnot.

Ideally that is completely true.


but in practice, it's a whole different story. How do you balance studying and socializing and having fun? I mean, when I study hard, I tend to be somewhat more antisocial. Although being a bit antisocial sometimes lets me study more effectively, by the time tests come, I see other people enjoying college and I feel like I should be able to experience that as well. and in the end I either study too much or not enough for the test - and still not end up getting good grades. other times I spend too much time hanging out with friends, and watching movies that I don't study enough and start getting bad grades.

I just want to be happy and still get good grades. and sacrificing my social life for that gets me into social conflicts with my friends. Is wanting both really too much to ask?

I'm graduating from college in a few weeks. So I can provide you some advice from a person that has experienced it all.

There is a secret that most college students don't realize. It's not uncommon for a college student to study on a Friday or Saturday night.

You can go out one night a week/weekend and focus the rest of the time for work and studying for your classes. Do most of your partying your freshman and sophomore years of college. In the junior year students start to slow down with the partying.

You don't have to become a total antisocial person, but you will need to pick who you want to be friends around. Most often, its best to become friends with people who have similar interests. Then you can enjoy your time better.

If you do go out and get drunk, don't take advantage of a lady that is drunk. I had several times as a college student where I could have banged more then three girls at the same time (of course one at a time, dah!) because they had no idea what was going on. So be smart.

You just need to decide what is worth your time and what isn't. You will be much more happy when you figure this out.

A lot of college students don't go out until 10:00 - 11:00 pm. Then they go to a party to get drunk. Then they come back home drunk at 1:30 to 3:00 am. What occurs during this time, well, just getting drunk. If you consider this enjoying college, well, there is more to college then drinking to get drunk every weekend for a couple of hours. I drove drunk students around (made money of people getting drunk, lol, lol, lol) for a full academic year. I had several weekends where I would make over 200 dollars in tips. I've seen several students complain about where they spent there money and I know they gave me a $20 tip (I don't say anything because they were to drunk to know what they did).

If you enjoy watching football, then try and make your weekends free so you can watch football. If you enjoy playing video games, then try and work during the day while you also have classes and play some video games at night. If you love to get drunk, then just get drunk once a week.

 

[da8s0859q]

Barely read any posts in this thread, so caveat lector.

The best answer for you is, like it usually is for most people, somewhere in the middle. You should not dedicate every waking moment to getting into medical school any more than you should take your acceptances-to-be for granted and set personal records each weekend for EtOH levels.

There is a happy medium. You just need to find out what you need to do to get there. I was basically miserable for the first two and a half years of undergrad (for perspective, 2003-2008 h/t non-hard science degree + prerequisites, graduating in a few weeks) because I didn't do exactly that. Sometimes, it pays to try and do what you can to see if you can, in fact, have your fluffy dessert substance and consume it, as well.

 

[sawood]

Why not study abroad for a year? Take a bunch of easy G.E.'s over there. Usually studying abroad is more about the exprience, meeting people, traveling, having fun, etc, etc, etc, and not about studying and grades (I rarely studied when I did it). Live it up without destroying your GPA.

IMHO, there will be few opportunities as you get older to be in an environment where there's a ton of people nearby that are your age, with similiar interests and relatively little responsibility. There is nothing wrong with taking time off (under the guise of something like studying abroad or whatever) to enjoy yourself.

With that said, I'd recommend not working on completing any hardcore science classes until you reach a place where you're ready to do what you need to do to achieve the grades.

 

[Habibti]

Life's not worth living if you're always living for tomorrow, because you forget to enjoy today. And then what happens when you've achieved all of your goals? You've got nothing left. There's a balance between enjoying today and working for your goals.

You're young, so have fun. Just don't have so much fun that you throw your dreams down the toilet. Figure out how you can do that. People understand if you're crazy busy once in a while, with a test or two coming up, but don't alienate them. If you keep saying no when they ask you to go out with them, they'll stop asking. You can go out a night or two a week without any huge problems. If you don't get schwasted and aren't ridiculously hungover (as in, you can function the next day), I'm sure you're not really losing a great deal of study time anyways. How much can you really get done on a Friday or Saturday night anyways?

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

I'm graduating from college in a few weeks. So I can provide you some advice from a person that has experienced it all.

Lol Are you kidding? Aren't you already in medical school or residency or some bs like that?

 

[kedrin]

just cut back on snorting coke a little and your grades will b fine! partyyy it up!

 

[Insulinshock]

Well well! Insert cliche *~everyone-is-an-individual~* thing here.

You have choices to make, and you have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice. In this case, you can go down a crapload of paths. HOWEVA! When it comes down to it, your personality will do the work for you. If you're naturally responsible and gunny but anti-social, you will probably just do your work and avoid social situations -- simply because that's who you are. If you are a hardcore slacker but love to party, you're going to have poopoo grades and killer stories about how you passed out in some girl's rack.

It gets tough though, when you don't know who you are (which is common for kiddos like us :[). If you're able to balance it, with the standard work-hard play-hard jawn, DO IT HOMES. I do, and it's pretty exhilarating. You can burn out sometimes, but glamorizing it will alleviate the crappiness of it. Sad, but true.

Also, try this: Savor everything. The good AND the bad. Relish in the torture you're experiencing, because when the clamps come off, it'll be that much sweeter. Ja ja.

...I'm so not a masochist though.

Best post EVER!!

It's all about priorities, really. I party as hard as they come, believe me, but i make sure i get my work done first, and i usually spend at least one night on the weekend in studying, etc. But enjoy both aspects of college, this is the best time of our lives.

 

[McLovinMD]

Lol Are you kidding? Aren't you already in medical school or residency or some bs like that?

Haha yeah, just looked at some of his old posts where he definitely claimed to be a resident.

 

[paranoid_eyes]

i live in the library from sunday to thursday, and i completely waste friday and saturday. it's a good mix, it keeps me sane.

honestly, it is better to do hardcore studying than half-assed studying. if you study really hardcore for 4-5 days, it's all you really need. It's sad when you work so-so with your stupid "facebook" or "myspace" page loaded up and youtube music videos blaring in your ears, get a C, and wonder what happening to you.