Back when you were in high school, you probably had to convince your mom that you were doing your homework. When she’d enter the room, you’d probably quickly exit out of whatever site you were on — be it Facebook or YouTube (or maybe even MySpace) — and open up a blank Word document to make her think you were being productive.
‘I have no idea what I’m doing.’
If you’re one of those lucky people who have an abnormally awesome class schedule, however, you now have a different problem.
Well … this is creepy.
Let’s say you have classes only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Five-day weekends look awesome on paper. You get to spend a lot of days off campus, if you’d like.
But then you start to realize just how much homework you have to finish on those five days you’re not in class.
A different version of ‘sleeping in’ develops.
Meanwhile, your roommates, who begrudgingly go to class five days a week, see you at home in your pajamas all the time. You’re trying to get your work done, but your roommates don’t believe that you’re actually doing work.
While we think the idea of reading, writing or typing at your computer at home with a warm mug of coffee or tea, snuggled up in a blanket in your pajamas, is a rather attractive way to work …
We like the pink one better.
Here are three steps to combat the opinions of your roommates/housemates/random people who visit your home who think you really don’t work when you’re at home.
1. Ditch the pajamas.
Suits, ties, fancy shoes — check.
Take a shower, get dressed and maybe even go to the extreme of combing your hair. If you’re bothered that your roommates think you don’t work because you’re always in flannel, show them that you take yourself and your work seriously.
Or, if you can rock the PJ look, wear whatever you want.
Looks like it’s good enough for Oxford, so why not UC Berkeley?
2. Leave.
You know you’ve walked by Strada and wanted to study there.
Check out one of Cal’s world-famous libraries, such as the Morrison or the East Asian library. Find a friend who has a schedule similar to yours and explore some unique places to get work done while enjoying a quaint new venue.
Or you could stay in the comfort of your room.
Assert your turf.
3. Don’t care.
Oh, what a beautiful thought.
We don’t mean about your grades — care about those! But as long as you’re getting everything done that you need to get done, who cares what anyone else assumes about your schedule? With all the stress you already experience with going to Cal, you don’t need the added load of worrying what other students think.
There is no “easy” major or “perfect” schedule. Work is work. Unless you really don’t care about passing your classes, then you’ve felt the stress that is associated with Cal and its academic rigor. Even if you only have classes twice a week.
Image sources: Laurenellen McCann, Alan Levine, Zhu, Jessica Leung, THINK Global School, Mike Licht, Jeremy Wilburn, Katie Swayze, under Creative Commons
GIF source: dudeseatingsalads
Contact Jessica Rogness at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @jessarogness.