As students, it is our duty to study and get good grades (or maybe just pass). But as human beings, socialization is our need. Sometimes we struggle to maintain our grades while keeping our social life on track. And it's become our eternal burden to keep the academic and social life balanced. In this post, I want to share my way of balancing the academic and non-academic life as a student. It might not apply to your personality or condition, but still, I hope that my story can enlighten you a little :)
Everybody gets their own ways balancing study and social life, and so do I. For me, I chose organization as a part of my social life. I'm not saying that it's the best option, but it is indeed an option you should consider if you feel that you need to improve your intrapersonal and interpersonal skills -- or in a much simpler way: if you are not ready for the real world. Just so you know, for the past 20 years of my life, I have always been questioning my capabilities and characters. And I thought maybe joining organizations can help me improve myself. So, how exactly do those organization experiences change my life?
First of all, I was born a 100% introvert and shy person. What a perfect combination right? I don't really like interacting with people and is not brave enough to approach somebody. As a result, I have very few friends from elementary school. My parents were so worried because I was so silent and anti-social that they took me to a psychologist. I didn't know if the therapy did work though. What's certain was that my social life got better in junior high. I did join OSIS (student organization) in junior high, but it didn't really affect my social life in my opinion. Yes, I got some good friends because of OSIS, but that's it. The most memorable moment of my junior high was when I joined the school band. Since our main topic is not about the band, I'll just say that being in the school band helped me a lot in improving my self-esteem and social skill. But my interest in school organization grew since then because I felt that I might get to learn some skills that benefit me in the long run from joining an organization. This surely was a turning point for the old shy-and-over-introverted-me.
In the high school, my social skill has got better and I didn't really struggle to get new friends. Although I tend to keep my inner circle small, I've got quite lots of acquaintances. This time, I joined OSIS again, hoping to improve my soft-skills. My high school life pretty much was filled with studying and lots of committees. It was undoubtedly tiring and time-consuming, but I enjoyed it so much! And I was definitely well-equipped with some essential soft-skills needed for my future, like public speaking, presentation, and event-organizing skills, also some lobbying stuff. Somehow, after all those high school organization experiences, I felt like I was actually better than who I thought I was. And that I am capable of something bigger. Do you know that feeling? When you feel like you actually deserve to be the main character of your life, that you are more than just the sidekick. Maybe this tips can be useful for you if you ever feel small or incompetent: try to improve yourself, learn something new, practice more, and always aim to be the better version of yourself EVERYDAY.
Now, in the university, I've got my self-esteem and skills. So what? Am I a cool kid now? Well, I think 'being cool' is just not for everyone. I still don't like to socialize that much. Then, I knew that being in an organization is just my thing, something like a hobby. Again, I found myself signing up for the university student association for two years. Throughout those years, my critical thinking skill surely improved a lot. I learned so much about conceptual thinking, troubleshooting, and decision making. Besides, I acquired more knowledge about people and myself. I can see myself getting better at building new relationships as well as controlling my thoughts.
Actually, that self-improvement stuff is not the best thing that you can get from an organization. I am happy that I can be a better person after joining so many organizations. But, besides that, the memories that remained are way more valuable. I think most of the school/university student association encompasses kinship and strong bond between its members. And that's exactly what I felt throughout my organization journey. I knew that there were people who through the same struggle with me and that kind of relieving knowing that you are not alone, right? Knowing that you always got somebody to back you up, or at least to cry and cheer together. I can't deny that as a social creature, I need that kind of support in my life. I can say that those people are the ones who keep me sane throughout the past years.
At this point, you should know that I chose organization as a part of my social life because I like it and I surely got the most out of it. Is an organization experience worth more than real job experience, such as part-time? Of course not. Both of them could mold you into a better person, but that depends solely on yourself. The point is, choose activities that upgrade your old incompetent and inexperienced self. I also want to remind you not to blame anyone or anything, but you. There's no excuse to keep your weakness because the real world doesn't care about it. You know that humans are capable of many crazy and amazing things, right? This part is especially dedicated to you who think that introverts and socially-awkward people are damned. You can change yourself because I can.
To end this long and soon-to-be-boring post, I'm going to wrap things up. First, academic and social life are both VERY IMPORTANT. And you should find a way to balance them. There are plenty of options you can choose, either the "conventional" organization or the "fun" real job. Let's get down to the nitty-gritty: find activities that improve you - either in character or skills - but always be eager to be a better person. And another warning, don't let all these "be a better person" stuffs stress you out, rather find the one that makes you happy and enjoy your life more. Because YOU deserve to be happy ;)
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