Student Blog: Staying Balanced for a New Semester

Hello and welcome to this corner of the internet! I hope you are well and ready for a little advice from a soon to be college graduate on how to navigate the winding road of uncertainty that is college life, especially when theater is involved. This is my first BWW Student blog, and I figured some of the ways I keep myself from spontaneously combusting from stress and overwork would be a good way to start. I am quite the busy bee; I work two jobs, have an internship, am on the board of two clubs, have 3 classes, a social life and I am usually working on at least two shows at once. At the current moment I am assistant directing “Fiddler on the Roof” and starting preproduction to direct a new play I am finishing writing. So having strategies to manage everything going on has been essential to my success as a student. So here are four things that help me stay balanced and on the right track. 

Your calendar is your Best Friend. 

I know it sounds cliche, but my calendar and I are truly best friends. I started using Google Calendar my first semester of college, and it is the single reason I have remembered all of my classes, meetings and assignments and stayed on top of things. I know people who use all sorts of calendars; digital ones like Apple or homemade ones within another app, wall calendars, digital planners, notes apps, and two of my best friends are exceptionally fond of Google Sheets. But the point is, find something that organizes things for you and use it! It really helps I promise!

Find a hobby outside of theater that fuels you. 

This has been a huge thing for me in the last year as I’ve taken on some of my biggest projects yet. Back in October I got to a point where between the show I was directing, the show that I was acting in and all of my classes I was thoroughly overwhelmed to the point of near burnout. When it got to the point where I needed to sit in a dark room for several hours before going to rehearsal I knew I needed to do something, so I started reading again. I read a new Sherlock Holmes pastiche I’d been looking forward to, a graphic novel, and a Star Trek book and slowly started to feel like myself again, and now I’m reading roughly a book per week. I also try to take some time out on weekends or during afternoons to do one of my other favorite hobbies since moving into an apartment with a kitchen, baking. Now I don’t want to raise your expectations too much, when I bake it is mostly dump a box in a mixing bowl, maybe add a few chocolate chips, put it on a pan or a cupcake tray and go. But the simple act of making something is super rewarding and has been one of my best ways to keep my head on straight. (Besides, who doesn’t love a sweet treat?)

Don’t do it alone.

One of the incredibly special things about being in college, (or even high school) is the community you are surrounded by nearly all the time. People are almost always looking to hang out or go to activities, or just do errands together as a group. Take advantage of that both in rehearsal and outside of it. Most people are in it for each other, and to make friends, so try to hang out. While sometimes it is exhausting, when you have the option, say yes to dinner after rehearsal, say yes to the party, say yes to going to get coffee. We have such a short time in college and while it’s important to make time for yourself, it’s important to not get so lost in yourself that you forget to invest time in your friends. 

Remember your why.

When things get rough and a show is going off the rails or I have too many costumes to alter or enough production paperwork to do that my eyes are swimming I try to remember why I do all of it. I do theater because of the community, because I love creating something that brings so many people joy despite the chaos it takes to balance everything. I love working towards a goal with people who have passion like mine. 

I know semesters can get busy and rough, but take a second and relax. We’ve got this!