Popularity or Education

Popularity or Education

As a college student you run into a few conflicts. One of the most common of these is between education, and being socially accepted. These two statuses conflict almost every hour of the day. Should I go out and drink tonight even though I have an eight o’clock class? All my friends are going to Kansas City this afternoon, and I have a class. Which should I do? These are just a few of the dilemmas a normal college student runs into. I for one was out until two o’clock in the morning the night I decided to write this paper, so I know what I’m talking about.

Being a college student takes a lot of your time. Classes and studying correctly leaves little time for anything else. The average student takes about fourteen hours a week, and should probably study that same amount of time to be completely prepared. If this were done all in one day it would be acceptable. Unfortunately, classes are spread throughout the week, and studying fills the hours in between. This however is not feasible for someone having the time of their life with their peers.

I have not researched the average college student on their social lives, but I can relate my own experiences. Most of the time college students have to work in order to go to school, or just live on their own. Work hours vary with each person, from eight hours a week to forty hours a week, but they also take a substantial amount of free time from a college student. This, along with classes, study time, sleeping, and eating time, leaves little or no time to make friends, or even keep them. But young adults thrive on social interaction, so therefore a struggle is bound to happen.

To become socially accepted requires many things. First you must have time to mingle.

This is done in many social settings, such as bars, parties, dorm rooms, and sport events. Once at these events, you must keep up interesting conversations, partake in activities, and meet new people. Once these connections have been made, they do require some upkeep. You cannot expect a good friendship to come from occasional conversations. A good friend is made by time spent together. During this time connections are made.

Along with general social interaction, most students partake in extra-curricular activities. These can be Greek organizations, Residence council, Intramural sports, and various clubs.