Academics, extracurricular activities,community service, social life, exercise, familyandapositive attitude to go along with it ... college students are expected to maintain it all with ease. Longwood students are no exception, as hyper involvement seems to be the norm among the student body.
A popular concept at Longwood is that of the “citizen leader.” After all, the university’s mission statement says it is “dedicated to the development of citizen leaders who are prepared to make positive contributions to the common good of society.”
What, exactly, does this statement mean? It sounds simple enough, but it could be interpreted in so many ways. Very few Longwood students seem to try to contribute to the “common good of society” with membership in one or two organizations. A common practice seems to be involvement in as many organizations and activities as possible.
I am personally pretty involved at Longwood, and I admit that I am often tempted to be more involved than I already am. But I’ve found that if I joined many more clubs, I wouldn’t be helping others or myself.
There are some people who seem to have the ability to be a part of several organizations and somehow balance the other parts of their lives nicely. Kudos to them, because they either have wicked time management skills or some sort of superpower.
If I spread myself too thin, it shows, and I am not able to dedicate myself to important areas of my life as much as I would like to. I’m certainly guilty of overloading myself this way, and it doesn’t do anyone any favors.
I honestly do not think being a citizen leader means being involved in as many activities as humanly possible. The people I think of as citizen leaders are in a few organizations they care about deeply and balance their academics and social life through time management and hard work.
It is sad to see people who wear themselves out constantly, filling themselves with ounce after ounce of caffeine, running about and pulling all-nighters just to keep up with everything. I’ve been there, and I know how difficult it is to keep up that kind of lifestyle.
Honestly, the people who try to do it all often turn to unethical or questionable means to get ahead: cheating, performance enhancing drugs, you name it. And what kind of leader is that? It can’t be worth it.
It is all about setting limits for yourself. I’ll admit that I haven’t quite found that perfect balance yet, and I’ll even break my limits sometimes. But I have learned that establishing boundaries and following them as often as possible improves my state of mind drastically.
How, exactly, does one go about setting these boundaries? An important step in doing this is asking others for help. I honestly believe having the bravery to ask and trusting others to help is part of being a good leader.
Another way to set boundaries is to make sacrifices. Sometimes, you may have to set aside some reading for a little while to relax and come back to it with a healthy attitude. Relaxing for too long may lead to those all-nighters I was talking about earlier, but if you manage your time well enough, you can find a balance.
Like I said, balance is difficult and sometimes it seems impossible. It takes hard work that can initially make your busy schedule even more exhausting. But once you get the right rhythm going, it makes life much easier, and hectic days are more structured.
Admitting that you are exhausted does not mean you are any less of a leader, either. Confessing that you aren’t 100 percent on top of everything all the time is an honorable trait because it makes you a more realistic person that others can not only look up to but relate to.
I am obviously not the number one authority on this subject, as I am still figuring all of this out myself, but I continue to learn from people who are able to balance their schedules well.
These individuals do not do it effortlessly or with ease but with a great deal of planning and hard work.
It is difficult not to feel pressured by everyone around you to be involved in as many activities as you can possibly shove into your schedule because this is pretty commonplace at Longwood. Try not to let these influences get to you and try to strike a healthy balance. This is a job in itself, but it is worth your well-deserved time.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
