Tufts Blogs

What? Orientation week isn't a week of structured activities? What am I supposed to do?

This was the first thought that went through my head when I saw an abundance of the word "optional" in the orientation week schedule packet. Coming from a very predictable, 8:30am to 3:20pm scheduled high school with alternating day blocks, I was used to having my time conveniently split into rational chunks by either a teacher or computer algorithm. Not having to think about my time had its perks: I could kind of just go through my day without thinking too much about it, letting things happen to me, simply "existing" between moments. Psychologically, it was rather liberating: I could predict roughly how my day would go and insert little quirky changes (like singing in class) here and there to make sure my boredom didn't get the better of me.

Upon arriving at Tufts, however, nothing was handed to me. During orientation week, it was up to me to schedule how to navigate the chaotic entry of all this new time. Why did it have to interfere? Having nothing to do, I ended up talking to many people - most of whom, although friendly, I never spoke to again simply out of having no intersecting circumstances. I did, however, learn that this time was here to stay - I would have at most 18 hours of classes a week (that's like, 3 days at high school!), and they would not start or end at the same time, and without the responsibilities I had at home, I would have a lot of free time under my belt. My initial fear, however, quickly turned to excitement - I'd have so much time to relax! "It's gonna be a ride, man, we're gonna party", said a classmate of mine, expressing my sensibilities.

It seemed like my blessings were countless when I actually began to attend classes and found that they were generally quite unstructured. Teachers left us to problem solve at our own devices - they would mark and grade homework but not nag about it, for example. Learning wasn't about attending classes at the right time and following along at a fixed pace: one could read ahead and do several assignments at once, for example. Is this a wise decision? If the lecture is easy, sure - it could be - especially if it's a subject you've taken before, it gives you more time to review for exams. If the class is not, it might be worth it to wait the reading out. This is the sort of advantage one gets when they're in a system that puts them at the center: the strategic aspects of decision-making finally become something you can consider on your own, which is a total contrast from high school.

Being able to (and frankly, having to) think about work in a relatively unsupervised academic environment has meant that I've become much more strategic about how I allocate my time. Instead of following along with whatever happens to me, I tend to want to be proactive - to change the course of how my learning is actually going. The transition to college means that you have a lot more time to think about your academic workload, and if you're honest with yourself, you'll not only work harder - but smarter. This means that because of the lack of the "work factor" that might be present when you're at home, you'll have a lot of truly free time too - for reading, diving into your interests, and social interaction. It's possible to be strategic about these things too!

Within my first three weeks at Tufts, I joined the Tufts Debate Society and I've attended four tournaments so far (BU Novice, Harvard, our very own Tufts tournament, and most recently, one at Northeastern). Being in an environment where I've been able to allocate my time freely means that in the initial weeks, I was able to "feel out" many clubs extensively (think hours spent at each) before committing to join any of them specifically - and then finally, making a better decision. Some of the best interactions I've had so far at Tufts have been through debate: our near-weekly competitions have formed unbreakable bonds between us, all because we (and only we) made our own decisions about time allocation and prioritization.

Frankly, at this point, I don't miss the humdrum and repetition of high school's schedule - give me more time, and I'll allocate it! I'll allocate it to become a better, more well-rounded person, who enjoys his life more, and gets more out of the work he does. I'll improve my prioritization skills day-by-day, and end up happier overall. Don't be afraid of a lack of structure! You'll carve one out for yourself over time.