5 Tips to a Healthy Student Life

STUDENT LIFE

By Darren Butler
January 22, 2019

I’m writing this article because I’ve realized the importance of balancing the time put into schoolwork and extracurricular activities with self-care. Trust me, you don’t want to put so much time and energy into getting a 4.0 or extracurricular activities that you burn out. Simultaneously, you don’t want to be so complacent that you don’t achieve greatness like the superstar you are. I’ll share a brief story.

In grades eleven and twelve, it seemed like I was doing well, but in reality, I felt utterly lost. I was unsure of the meaningfulness of my recent successes. I wasn’t satisfied with being a student with good grades. I felt there was more to my life than that; I wanted to have a visible impact in my environment. Simultaneously, I was struggling to decide what my career path would be after graduation so I fought between preparing for work I would enjoy and preparing for a career that Bahamian society would deem suitable for a smart and talented person. These anxieties spurred feverish energy in me and I started to do everything on campus to figure out what was right for me. I devoted myself to so many organizations and projects that I no longer did much of anything for myself. I sacrificed sleep to plan for meetings and service projects. I constantly thought about how I could take my organizations to the next level, even if it meant sacrificing sleep, studying, or peace-of-mind. I was coming home late in the evening only pausing for 20 minutes to eat then proceeding to homework, practice, or planning until I couldn’t bear the fatigue anymore. I would regularly just sleep in my uniform. This left me so unhappy that I wasn’t sure what I was working for anymore. If I could travel back in time, I would give myself these five tips so I could live a healthy, productive student life.

Know yourself

Understand your personality, your motivations, your likes, and dislikes so you can construct a productive environment. If you know yourself, you can more easily determine goals and choose appropriate methods to achieving your goals. For example, I established and managed a band in my old school for two years until I graduated because I thought music was the core of my identity, but after much reflection (and even more headache), I realized that I didn’t want a band, I wanted to inspire others to reach their full potential in whatever their passion is. To know yourself better, I recommend taking a personality test. Also don’t be afraid to talk to yourself because no one can understand you like you.

“I don’t always talk to myself, but when I do… It’s a live conversation.”

Believe in your greatness

Believe that God already put greatness in you and don’t let it be defined by any single activity. I borrow that idea from Denzil Rolle. He was speaking at a workshop I was attending when he gave this message, though I did not understand it as well as I do now. He used the example of playing saxophone, saying that you are not great because you play saxophone well. You make the saxophone great because you put your greatness into it. Similarly, you aren’t great because your grades are good, your grades are good because you put your greatness into it. When you believe in your innate greatness and don’t fool yourself in thinking a certain activity or other people make you great, it’s easier to walk away from harmful situations.

See, I want to be like her when I grow up.

Know when to quit

When you constantly find yourself in a situation where you’re constantly being disrespected, taken advantage of, or feeling physically and emotionally drained, remove yourself from that environment. You are going to meet people who, intentionally or not, will try to bring you down, especially in the midst of your success. In particular, beware of those who use your determination to succeed to take advantage of you. These people usually express that they want to achieve the same thing as you, but they don’t adopt the appropriate habits to do so. Also, don’t be so determined to reach the goal that you repeatedly let them get away with it. If you believe in your greatness, you’ll realize that you have so much greatness in you that there’s more than one way to reach your goal, or you’ll realize that you can put that goal on hold, and go after something just as good with less stress.

“You said you could print everything for the project, yet your hands are empty? Interesting…”

Being a student is your job. Take pride in your work.

It doesn’t pay right away, but being a student is your job so you have the right to take pride in your work and take steps to do it as well as possible.

1. Use a binder for your subjects: Rearrange notes, store and keep track of tests and assignments easily.
2. Use your planner and always check it. As soon as you get a due date, write it down. I mean it. USE IT.
3. Pester your teachers for knowledge. The best way to pester your teacher is to constantly be on them for explanations when you don’t understand. Not only does it make your life easier, but they can’t get mad.