Sk80s. Valentine’s Day. Hall dates. Movie nights. Work. Bible study. And to top it all off, you’ve got a test tomorrow.
Spring always tends to feel frantic on campus, but this year seems to be busier than past. Between hall, building and all-campus events, students are finding every single weekend full. Things can pile up seemingly overnight, often occurring at the same time or in rapid succession. Although these parties and get-togethers are a blast, many students are complaining of burnout and lack of time for homework far earlier in the school year than usual.
Too much of a good thing is still too much. In a recent study by the National Education Association, students experienced “extracurricular overload.” Rather than boost academic performance and mental health, the sheer amount of events that students felt pressure to attend overwhelmed them to the point of detriment. The problem wasn’t the movie nights, or the sports tournaments–it was an inability to say no.
With so many fun things constantly happening on campus, it can become all too easy to try to do it all. We think that we can attend every Bible study meeting, while planning a hall date, two hours before the major campus event that you’ve been anticipating all month. And while it’s fun for those two hours, you’re completely exhausted afterwards—forget homework. And while you knew you’d be tired, there was a social pressure too. We don’t want to be the one person who stays behind—we don’t want to ruin the moment.
2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. We have the power to choose what we give our time to and the self-control to discern when we might be overdoing it. As a mentor of mine once put it, “Jesus isn’t going to take study group attendance in heaven. He’s just glad you’re there.” You will continue to exist even if you’re not in that group picture at Spring Formal. Your time at Covenant is a massive gift! We’re tasked with stewarding that gift appropriately, even if that means saying no to an event or two.