Can You Fall in Love AND Get a 4.0?

Faye's blogging THE NAKED ROOMMATE as she prepares for her first year of college! —Sparkitors

Gah, Chapter 7 of The Naked Roommate is 56 pages long?! It’s the size of a small book, which discusses why you should read your college books, all within a larger book about college. It’s like the Inception of book chapters.

Here’s my SparkNotes version: (Since we all know you’re not going to read a whole chapter entitled “Life Inside the Classroom.”)

Go to class. Let your professors know you exist, preferably before you come begging for extra credit at the end of the semester. If you want to pass, you actually have to try. If you want to fail, don’t pay attention to that last sentence or any of your classes. Don’t cheat. Read the important parts of your text books, take notes, and form a study group. Shout out to SparkNotes on page 222, woo! Look up old exams and study those (if legal). Don’t be afraid to change your major—most people do. Talk to your advisor. Manage your time wisely. Pick awesome electives.

Exhausted after all that synopsis? Want to take a break and listen to me talk about my college weekend? Of course you do!

Faye’s Super Awesome Adventure in New Philabostiago
I mentioned last week that I was having my college orientation. (Actually, it was like a pre-Orientation since the real Orientation isn’t until the end of August) where I got to meet people, register for my classes, and watch a “fun and entertaining” skit about issues you might run into in college, which wound up being neither fun nor entertaining. Anyway, on to the good stuff!

• Everyone was really nice. Seriously, it was almost scary how nice people were. I mean, obviously the people running the orientation thing who are paid to be nice were nice, but so were the new students like me, and my advisor, and my roommate for the one night in the dorms. So, college people, is this normal?
• I must look like I know where I’m going. This was only my 2nd time in New Philabostiago and I had one person ask me where the book store was, and another guy asked me if I knew where he could buy a dozen cupcakes. I know where to buy books and baked goods, so I figure I’m set for college.
• There are some very attractive guys at my college, which can only mean one thing: I’m going to have stuff to write about again this year!

HOWEVER. I’m kind of worried about balancing all the academic parts of college with all the fun parts. I want to do things‚—get involved, join clubs, make friends, fall in love, attempt to play sports. And sometimes when I think about how awesome college is going to be/is supposed to be, I forget that college is school. Like, I’m going to have to study, and write papers, and wake up for an 8 a.m. chemistry class because that’s the only one that fit in my schedule. The rest of my classes aren’t cakewalks either: Physics, Honors Calc, Honors Engineering Analysis, Engineering Seminar, and the only awesome elective that would fit in my schedule, Introduction to Western Architecture.

The thing is, I’m smart. Smart smart. Which doesn’t mean that I’m doubly smart, it means that I’m smart enough to realize that I can’t get by with being smart alone, I actually have to work. (As opposed to stupid smart, like the math geniuses in my physics class who failed AP Calc because they never did their homework.) So with 17 credits, I’m going to have to work like crazy if I want an A. And I really want an A… but I also don’t want to be an anti-social loser who missed out on college because she spent one too many late nights in the library.

So, the question is: Is it still possible to be awesome and get an A?

Until next week,

Faye :)

Any advice for Faye on balancing school and social stuff in college?

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