Traveling During the Term
I’ve been traveling quite a bit this year. By my count, I have flown 21 times since the beginning of this school year (mostly because I studied abroad in Edinburgh in the Fall, and spent quite a few weekends traveling around Europe). This term, I spent one day in San Francisco and four days in Philadelphia. I just returned from Philly, actually, and I’m reflecting on everything I’ve done to make sure that traveling doesn’t affect my schoolwork.
First off, it helps that I’m already in the habit of getting homework done early. Homework for all of my classes (except for CS38) is pretty easy to do ahead of time, right when it’s assigned, because two of my classes are project classes (and don’t have anything due until the end of the semester anyway) and two of my classes are on the easier side. I’m also pretty lucky that CS38 gives late “tokens,” which are built-in extensions that you can use throughout the term whenever you want. For this trip to the East coast, I was able to get everything done besides 1/2 of that week’s CS38 problem set, and I left the last two problems until I returned and used up some of my built-in late days. I was pretty judicious about using them, so I still have a few left for later in the semester in case I get sick or get stuck and need to use a few more. I’m also very lucky that I’m able to travel at all: flights to anywhere are expensive, and flights across the country are very much so. Luckily, I have a few on-campus jobs (including blogging for admissions!) and was able to pay for my tickets to Philadelphia to visit my long-distance significant other and attend his fraternity’s Formal. I’m also very, very lucky that my SO attends a University that is a 20-minute drive from my parents’ house, so that whenever I visit him, I also get to visit my family (and my dog).
Having a weekend away from campus was really, really nice, too. Not just because I got to see some people I love and don’t get to see very often, but also because I’m feeling pretty burnt out this semester. Three terms of college a year is a LOT to handle, and as work piles up, so does stress, and it takes a toll. I’m militant about practicing self-care, but guys, I’m tired. So being able to relax in a different environment, with people I love, was amazing.
