Hello everyone, welcome back to Let’s Be Real, your weekly dose of campus advice, history, and culture.
This is your host, Zhanai Dillard, a proud freshman computer science major here at the illustrious Alabama State University.
Today is Friday, October 3rd, and today’s episode is all about creating balance in your school life.

As I’m sure you know, this past week was homecoming week. This past week was also midterms week. It was a super busy week.
So in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about some ways that you can balance a fun, vibrant campus life while still surviving and succeeding academically.

First of all, one of the most important things, in my personal opinion, is to take note of all the things that you would like to have completed by the end of your designated time.
For the sake of this episode, we’re going to say the designated time is to have everything done in one week.
Even though, really, you can apply these principles to any period of time. One week, two weeks, a month—it really just depends on what you have going on.

Homecoming week is busy, and campus culture does not slow down just because you have three back-to-back exams.
So you’re going to want to make sure that you build in time for events that do not come at the expense of your schoolwork.
You’re going to have to create your schedule with the understanding that you will not be able to do everything, because teachers do not stop assigning work just because they give you a midterm.
You’ll receive a midterm, two homework assignments, a group project, and a four-page essay, and honestly, you’re just going to be expected to figure that out and make that work.

Once you have some form of schedule, it’s important to do your best to adhere to your schedule.
When you deviate from your schedule, it sends a ripple effect into literally everything else you have planned.
But making a schedule and following a schedule are two entirely different ballparks.
It can honestly be really hard to follow a schedule. You may write up your schedule, and everything may be going right on time, but then you may find yourself tired, hungry, or even sick.

This is why it’s important to carve out time for yourself.
Obviously, the schedule is created to keep track of everything you have going on at school, but if you don’t plan to take time out for yourself, it’s really easy to overdo it.
It’s really easy to get burned out and overextended when you never planned for yourself in the first place.

Some of my favorite ways to look out for myself when there’s a lot going on include:

1. Drinking lots of water. Staying hydrated is super important for a variety of reasons. Dehydration can make your brain function slower, and it makes it difficult to think. It can also seriously drain your energy levels and make it difficult to sit through study sessions without feeling fatigued and tired.
   Caffeine also really dehydrates you, and drinking water is a great way to balance that out without feeling jittery or exhausted. And if that wasn’t enough reasons, water also balances your cortisol level, so if you’re feeling really stressed out, it can help regulate that.

2. Try your hardest to get some good sleep in. Sleep is extremely essential for the day-to-day functions of your body. After your long study sessions, getting a good nap in can help your brain store and process everything that you studied. I know when there’s a lot to do, sleeping may feel like a waste of time. But it’s extremely crucial to ensure that your brain and body can show up the way that you need it to.

3. Keep yourself grounded. Arguably one of the best things that you can do for yourself in times of stress is to stay grounded. This looks different for everyone, but for me personally, it looks like constant prayer. Taking a little bit of time out to feed my spirit helps me remain focused even when things are difficult. For me, this is prayer. But this can really be anything—from meditation to hobbies to any little thing that revives you and pours energy back into your life.

Now, you have your schedule and some ways to help you take care of yourself while you push through your schedule.
My last piece of advice is to lean on your community. Use your resources.
As someone who doesn’t test well, test season can be extremely stressful for me. In those stressful times, I rely on the resources this campus has made available.
You’ll pay all this money, you might as well take advantage of them.

There are plenty of labs and workshops that you can attend for pretty much any subject just to get a better understanding.
There are also tutors available if you’re the type to need a one-on-one explanation when you’re struggling.
Aside from the labs and tutoring, your teachers also have office hours that they’re paid for—so definitely go in during their office hours. They are paid to be there just to help you, so take advantage of that and make sure you get what you need.

And if you’re feeling stressed out and what you really need is someone to talk to, there are also a variety of counseling services available on campus.
Regardless of what you’re going through, there’s almost always someone able to sit, listen, and assist you.

That being said, I know balancing everything is hard. I, for one, definitely struggle sometimes, but having a certain level of organization definitely helps to take away the element of surprise.
It allows you to go into things prepared and conscious.

Speaking of consciousness, starting this week, each episode will feature a short segment dedicated to informing students about important figures in ASU history.
Each episode segment will briefly discuss a building on campus, who the building is named after, and why that person is important to our HBCU.

Today, we will discuss H.C. Trenholm Hall, named after Harper Counsel Trenholm.
This building is home to the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences here on campus.
After his father, G.W. Trenholm, died, he became the fifth president of Alabama State University.
He served as president for 37 years and oversaw the change from a junior college to a full four-year institution.
In 1940, he initiated a graduate degree program and witnessed the school’s first bachelor degree be awarded in 1943.

Harper C. Trenholm’s vision transformed Alabama State from a small teacher’s college into a thriving institution of higher education, and his legacy still echoes proudly through this campus.

That being said, that’s all for now.
Thank you so much for tuning in with me today. I hope this conversation helped you to find a little bit of balance in the middle of everything going on these days.
Don’t forget to tune in for next week’s episode—you don’t want to miss it.

Once again, my name is Zhanai Dillard, and I’ll talk to you guys next week on Let’s Be Real.