Writing in College

Been meaning to write this post, and since it's the end of my spring break, I thought I'd get it up! From the title, you'll know that I'm going to get down to the truth of how I make time to write in college.

For a similar reads, here are some general tips I gave in a pervious post: 3 tips on juggling writing and school

A lot of writers are faced with the sentiment: "oh, I wish I had that much time to write!" And while the frustration writers feel in response is usually universal, everyone has a different way of making the time. Some carve out sacred hours. Some save the writing for weekends. For me, and for many others most likely, it's all about leading that double life.

STUDENT AND WRITER

I do decently in school, which fools people into thinking that I'm a massive try-hard (e.g. I was nominated for the "most likely to study for the SATs after the SATs" superlative senior year of high school, which was totally untrue--until I accepted the job to tutor SATs and then yes, I did have to study for the SATs three years after taking them -___-).

The truth is, I don't actually give school my all. I procrastinate. I cut corners by studying "just enough", whatever that means to whomever. I have a fantastic short-term memory which, to the dismay of my mom who would really like me to master Chinese, means that I excel at taking vocab quizzes by cramming the characters and forget them shortly afterwards.

But the aforementioned things alone do not "make" the time, especially since I am possibly one of the slowest writers I know. Instead, I've had to make decisions, most easy, but some harder.

I would be as busy as any other undergraduate if not for the following choices:

DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying that these are good or bad choices. These are simply choices that work for me.

• I'm majoring in psychology, which isn't a walk in the park, but plays toward my strengths of being able to read and memorize, meaning that I can be more efficient in learning the material, meaning that I have more time to write. 
• I'm not minoring, because I'd rather take a random assortment of classes for the pure sake of interest than fulfilling more required credits. This allows me to broaden my knowledge base and dabble in many things, which makes for inspiration, and also allows me more time. 
• I take 4 classes each semester, which is 1 class fewer than the average load of 5. 
• I participate in one club.
• (and this one I hesitate to list because it's not an active choice...for the most part). I have no social life. A lot of people say this, but I say this and live this. I've never been to a single party even though I'm at a college with a "work hard, play hard" philosophy. I rarely hang out in person with friends. By nature, I am a super-introvert, and I like to hermit, so as I've said, it's mostly personal preference.

Am I sacrificing a bit of my college experience? Yes. Am I taking risks? Yes. Though I keep in contact with the the close ones, I might have fewer friends than the average fresh-out-of-college student at graduation. Minors might become all the rage, and I might not be able to find a job without one. Psychology isn't exactly the easiest field to find a career in, especially without a higher degree. 

But I take these risks. I've taken them before.

BEFORE

Before I lived the double life of student and writer, I lived the double life of student and artist. Looking back on the years (age 7-14), those "sacrifices" weren't as big as I made them out to be (Weekends spent in the studio. Weekdays spent in the studio. Competitions entered, competitions lost. Less time for playdates, more time spent staring at nude models, which is always a fun conversation topic now, but wasn't something I could casually bring up back in middle school). But they hurt as a kid. And I ultimately "quit" art (stepped off the professional track) because I was neither mature enough to understand why things had to be less than fun sometimes NOR (and this is key) passionate enough about art. 

NOW

I'm grateful that I experienced those previous years, because they've taught me that if you have a dream that you are passionate about, you have to give it your all, embracing both the bits that are fun and the bits that kind of suck, but are worth it in the long run.

If you're also leading the life of a writer and something else, I'd love to know what choices you've made in order to juggle both!