Give your free time some meaning

Within the past few years I was lucky enough to have someone share the famous words of Pedro Arrupe with me. He wisely said, “What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

When trying to adjust to college life, one of the biggest struggles that many freshmen face is the lack of motivation to do work. There are simply far too many fun distractions to prevent you from doing that 15 page paper on Henry the VIII. Going to the mall, playing Frisbee on the quad, and watching that new movie in the common room are just too tempting. Falling in love is the easiest way to fix that.

Peoples’ productivity increases when they have more things to do. If you’ve ever noticed, at finals time, even the kids who love to watch TV all day or play Madden somehow find themselves at the library for hours on end to catch up on some light reading about micro-organisms and lyophilization. Normally, the people who are active in extracurricular activities and internships have the drive and time management skills to do this throughout the semester. They’re the ones who are less likely to spend time in front of the TV and more likely to start studying for the exam early.

Falling in love with a cause, a club, or a sport will not only fill up your time, but it will also bring you closer to people who have similar interests to you and it will help you find your place in this new society. People who fall in love have a greater sense of their purpose on their campuses, tend to know more people, and have a much clearer sense of what they want to do once the four years is over.

Undergraduate and graduate programs love to see when applicants have fallen in love with something, as well. Sometimes it’s not the number of extracurricular activities that you do, but the amount of dedication that you have for the things you are passionate about. Having a passion not only shows that you have an understanding of yourself, but that you are able to balance school and extracurricular activities, as well. So fall in love and give your free time some meaning.