Ivana’s Insights🌎

One of the hardest things to do when you arrive at school is learning how to manage and balance your personal pie chart. School, Sports, and your Social Life. Are all three pieces equal? Do they need to be? Is this chart constantly changing? The answer to these questions will vary depending on who you are, and what you want to get out of your college experience, along with many other factors.

1. Set a goal for how you want your pie to be balanced.

When I was being recruited, I remember having a phone call with a coach who asked me this question: If I was to put tennis, academics, and social life all into a pie chart, how big would each piece be?

This question stumped me for a moment, and while under pressure I remember saying that I would hope that every piece can be as equally balanced as possible, but obviously leaning more towards an emphasis on tennis and my degree. After this call I realized what a great question that was, and it also made me realize that having equal pieces of the pie might not be what I really want, and definitely might not be as attainable as I originally thought when answering the question.

2. Learn how to make judgement calls.

Sometimes it can be hard to know what to do in the moment. Say it’s Friday night, you have had a long week of workouts, practices, and class, and you have been invited to a social hour with some new students, like yourself. For me, many things would pop into my head. Like, “I probably shouldn’t go, I still have to finish this assignment thats due on Sunday” or, “I am too tired, I want to relax tonight” or often, “I am too nervous, I don’t know these people and it may be hard to make friends tonight”. All of the above thoughts are completely valid, but you have to learn how to make judgement calls for yourself.

A tip for this is to mix up what your choices. If you said no to a social gathering on Friday night, make sure you say yes to the next one. If you are feeling social anxiety, ask a teammate or roommate to join you on the venture! Either way, it is important that you keep your priorities straight but also that you put yourself out there. You also need to make the judgement calls that way you can learn from your decisions to better yourself in the future!

3. Stay true to you!

College can be full of pressure-filled social situations, along with some new distractions, and figuring out how to be independent for the first time for many of us. BUT, college is also filled with just as many fun moments that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Before stepping foot onto the campus, if you have an idea of where your priorities rank, you can always be true to the things that are most important to you. Have fun, but don’t let any person or situation make you act in a way that you wouldn’t normally! If you want to get out of your shell, do it because it is a decision you are making and that you are content with. Be true to yourself in moments of doubt, especially in the first few months and even years of being in college. That’s a big part of college, right? Figuring out who you are as an individual, learning your likes and dislikes, etc. All in all, don’t overthink it! Do what you think is best in the moment and learn from it.