Finding a balance

Studying abroad is an amazing adventure where so many crazy opportunities will present themselves. You will constantly have to make decisions about what is worth your time and what isn’t. In a summer program especially, it feels like there will never be enough time to accomplish everything. The sad truth is that sometimes you will have to choose doing homework over some of those amazing experiences. For every activity or excursion, I have a little voice in the back of my head reminding me that homework and school still exist. Sometimes the voice is loud and present and sometimes it’s barely a whisper.

On my second weekend in Spain, I took a trip to Rome and it was amazing. We saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, and the Vatican. I didn’t work on any of my homework beforehand and didn’t bring anything to work on while I was there. When we finally got back on Sunday around 7pm, I realized I had made a huge mistake. I was completely exhausted from the weekend and still had several assignments due the following day. I got through them and took an epic nap the next day, but I knew I should have let that voice in my head be stronger than a whisper.

These are my tips for balancing schoolwork with the amazing experiences that come with studying abroad:

1    1. Don’t try to do everything:

There’s so much to do and so little time, but that doesn’t mean you should fill every waking second with activities. You will get burnt out and all the cool things you did will run together in a blur of exhaustion and your school work will suffer. Find the things you think will give you the best memories and stick with them. That brings me to the second tip:

2.  Choose unique experiences:

Before you decide to spend precious time and money on something, ask yourself this question: Could I do this in the U.S. and have the same experience? If the answer is undeniably yes, then don’t do it! You need time for homework as it is and the valuable time you do have should be spent trying new and exciting things that you couldn’t do at home. Whether it’s getting late night tapas or taking a day trip to Montserrat, there will be opportunities that are unique to where you’re studying. Make those a priority and use your left over time to study.

3. Don’t procrastinate:

This is one of the oldest tips in the book, but it’s still true. The worst thing you can do while studying abroad is procrastinate your school work. If you leave it to the last minute, then something cool will inevitably be happening and you will either not be able to go, stay up all night doing homework, or not do it all. None of those are good options. Save yourself the headache and do homework ahead of time whenever possible. 

4. Know your limits:

There will always be people who seemingly don’t need sleep and manage to do everything. Maybe you are one of those people, but odds are you need sleep and down time like the rest of us. If you’re already tired and you have a mountain of homework, don’t go for a two-hour hike that’s all uphill. That being said, don’t let feeling tired or busy keep you from doing cool stuff. It’s all about finding a balance.