I live my life by making lists. These bulleted agendas are what help me get through the week, and they look a little something like this: do laundry, write geography paper, schedule doctor’s appointment, write column, eat dinner. Some might call this neurotic; I call it means for survival.
With a packed schedule, it’s almost impossible to fit activities I actually enjoy. For me and a small number of other students, my favorite pastime is writing. However, as an English major, it’s difficult to find time to write creatively outside the plethora of essays and think pieces that often fill my to-do lists.
In college, the time for creativity is limited. Even when I give myself a moment to read for pleasure, I feel an immense amount of guilt swelling inside of me. My brain starts ticking through all the other assignments I need to do, so when I try to make time for creativity, my mind asks, “Couldn’t you be working on your research project right now?”
Luckily, I’m also a creative writing minor, so I’m technically given a little leeway to pursue my passions. Unfortunately, not everyone has this luxury. Many students have passions for the arts, but absolutely no wiggle room in their academic paths to minor in an interest. With busy schedules, tons of homework and the need for a substantial amount of sleep, the time to create is limited no matter what major you’re pursuing. There aren’t blank places to fill on to-do lists.
Sure, there are weekends, but weekends are usually filled with bursts of social events balanced with the load of schoolwork for the coming week. As a creatively inclined individual who can’t find time outside of class to write and write excessively, I begin to question my passion. If I were truly an artist, wouldn’t I find time despite the academic hurdles? Sylvia Plath didn’t become a great poet because she wrote whenever she had a lull in her class work.
I’ve come to realize greatness is something to work for. None of us are taking classes because we already know the subject matter; we came to college because we want to learn what is not common knowledge. Despite the hectic schedules we all face, we must find the things we love and let them lead us. Hence how I came to UNC thinking I was going to pursue journalism and ended up head over heels within the English department.
Inspiration strikes at the strangest times. I wrote some of my earliest poems in the margins of my SAT study book.
Balance is everything; no one thing should run our lives, including academics. While it’s important to do the best you can, it’s also important to remember you have passions that extend beyond making good grades. I’m making an end-of-the-year resolution to nurture my passion a little bit more, beyond the assignments I have in my intermediate poetry class.
It may seem impossible to find time for the passions we hold so dear to our hearts, but at the end of the day, it’s important to make time for the things you love. Even if that means adding an extra bullet point to that to-do list, it might just be the most important thing you accomplish today.
