Too Much To Do, Not Enough Time

Story by Jackie Cohen

You can sleep when you’re dead, I was once told by my counselor after I complained about being tired. I took this to heart. I often sleep too little because I feel the need to participate in everything. When I’m most busy, I jokingly say, “who needs sleep anyways?”

The truth is I need sleep!

Coming from a high school where I was one of 38 graduating seniors and was involved in everything I possibly could, the transition into college was strange. A few weeks after school had started, I went to the involvement fair with my friend. I didn't know where to start. There were so many clubs to join and they all sounded so interesting and fun. I couldn’t decide which to pick, so I signed up to join 10 clubs. Obviously I didn't end up participating in all of them.

For me, it was weird being on a campus where I didn’t know everything that was going on. In high school I was aware of everything on campus considering that I was ASB grade representative, section editor for the yearbook, copy editor for the newspaper, a volleyball player, and a part of various other clubs on campus. Managing my time was difficult, but doable and I was involved in literally everything.

I arrived at Chapman expecting the same, but soon realized that with so many more options of organizations to join, managing my time would be a lot more difficult and I would have to prioritize. It was weird not being a part of everything.

Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to join everything, I still managed join way too many organizations. First, I joined the University Program Board’s (UPB) Panther Nights committee and started writing for The Panther. I was also an active member of Hillel and Panthers for Israel. Along the way I was a part of a few other clubs, but ended up dropping them because I didn’t have time to fully commit to them. By my second semester here, my already busy schedule filled up even more when I joined the Hillel and Panthers for Israel executive boards, became a founding member Pi Beta Phi, and took on more responsibilities in UPB by joining Harmony Council. At this point sleep became a luxury.

The worst part is that there are so many other organizations I wish I had the time to join. I want to participate in sustainability efforts, community service, and more.

I am often told that I have spread myself too thin and should limit the amount of organizations I participate in. My problem is that I am passionate of everything I am a part of and wouldn’t be able to decide what to give up. All of the organizations I participate in reflect different parts of my identity and I wouldn’t want to lose them. I participate in all of these because they are a part of my identity and I enjoy them. 

The truth is, I don’t need to drop more activities, I just need longer days. So with this, I petition that we make days last 36 hours so that we can all have enough time to participate in everything we want and still get enough sleep. Who’s with me?

Well, I know this is impossible, so I will be running on very little sleep for the next three years.

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