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officialcolumbiauniversity · 7 years

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48 Hours In The Life

Now that I’ve settled into a routine for school, well into my second month of sophomore year, I’d like to bring to you, inspired by @college-advice, 48 Hours In the Life of a Columbia Student. While my journal entries do indeed tell what I’m doing every few days or so, I tend to focus on particularly notable things that happened that day. This serves to delineate every single thing that happens on a typical Monday and Tuesday, the good, the bad, the dreary, and the absolutely typical aspects of my life here. And because classes are twice a week, Mondays and Tuesdays are a good impression of my whole week. So, let’s start with Monday.

Monday

7:00 AM--I wake up. I set an alarm across my room to wake me up at 7 AM sharp, every day, in case I want to work out that day. Usually my first appointment of the day is never before 10 AM, so 7 always gives me ample time to shower when I get back. I take long showers.

9:30 AM--I wake up. I decided to not go to the gym today so I fell back asleep.

10:30 AM--I get out of bed after having quite literally spent an hour on my phone. Not healthy, I know, but it’s quite comforting just scrolling through Facebook videos, even if I’m not actually watching them.

I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and wash my face. I have to bring a hand towel bc my dorm doesn’t have hand dryers OR paper towels.

11:30 AM--After having wasted the majority of this last hour eating cereal I got from JJ’s for breakfast and watching Youtube videos, I’m out the door to catch the 1 train. I’ve got work today!

11:45 AM--I arrive at work. Being a bit early to work means I get to see who the tour guides are for the 12 PM tour time, as well as who’s working the desk and how many people came in for a tour today. So far this year, no more than 50 people have ever collectively showed up for one tour on any day other than Fridays.

Work is always the highlight of my week. I get to talk to a coworker, help visitors out, and do homework. I even get to eat at desk sometimes. Today my supervisor calls me into her office so I can explain my timesheet, and we sort things out. I don’t get in any trouble. Coworker (who honestly deserves a better nickname on this blog) and I talk about relationship drama--not that there is much. He’s dating a guy from Juilliard and together they are unstoppable.

3:00 PM--I notice that I forgot to get a substantial lunch. I would normally get a sandwich from Uris deli because it’s so close, but I just ran out of Dining Dollars, so I head to JJ’s (again) and grab an omelette and some fries.

5:00 PM--The office closes for the day. However, Coworker and I are assigned to give an after-hours tour to some business execs. Idk. But we wait.

5:30 PM--We’re supposed to meet them now but they’re nowhere to be found. Turns out they’re still upstairs. Which is a problem because I originally thought this tour wouldn’t go past 6, bc I have class. Orgo, to be specific.

6:00 PM--The tour starts. I’m def skipping orgo. #putting all this on my timesheet for #more pay~

6:40 PM--The tour’s about to end, and Coworker and I are co-leading. This last stop was Havemeyer actually, so after the stop ends I leave Coworker to wrap up the tour as I book it to class, thirty minutes late.

7:25 PM--Class ends. I wasn’t paying any attention and kind of regret it. But it was because I was trying to study for the quiz in half an hour.

7:50 PM--I arrive early to recitation after chilling in the NoCo library on my phone. For some reason these two kids are always here in class before me.

8:10 PM--Recitation starts and I’m already wishing it was over. But the quiz goes smoothly, and afterwards the TA clarifies some stuff and then starts teaching us the most recent chapter again. Even though it’s redundant I love it because she explains things much more succinctly than the professor does. It’s like the sparknotes of lecture.

9:00 PM--We out. The lampposts on campus make me feel oddly alone even though it’s only 9 PM, but not lonely in any way. It gives me the impression that the night has already come to an end, and it takes real effort to go back to studying for tomorrow instead of just turning in.

9:20 PM--Back home I quickly grab my charger and study materials before the impulse to sleep gets any larger. Thankfully Golden has already texted me agreeing to meet at Butler library soon, so I have someone to not disappoint. We head into Butler and start working.

Today I’ve got two music theory assignments to finish, a response to a book to write for CC, and a little advance studying for my chem midterm next week to get started on. I decide to put off the MT assignments for tomorrow, work on Tumblr posts, and do a little bit of chem.

12:00 AM--I’m still an old man at heart so I say goodnight to Golden (she’ll be up until about 5 AM), head home for the last time, take a shower, brush my teeth, and fall asleep. The last things I do before bed is write about my day and drink a glass of water. I’ve already turned on my alarm for 7 AM.

Tuesday

7 AM--I’m up.

8 AM--I’m up for real. I forgot to mention this yesterday but I usually spend about 30 minutes reviewing my planner and writing out a daily to-do list on a sticky note. Helps me feel put-together. I could go work out, but I stretch and choose to split my time between my bed and my chair. Cardio, right? Today’s a little more rushed, as I have a 10:10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I know I won’t ever get to class unless I’m already on campus for like an hour. So I’m out the door by 9 and grab a bagel sandwich from John Jay for breakfast.

9:11 AM--I arrive on campus and try to find some place to get work done. Today I end up in the Visitor’s Center. I actually finish my CC homework for today. I have physics in an hour.

10:10 AM--Class starts. The professor is barely 30 and he’s kinda bonkers. Last class he tried to explain gravity to us by shooting a stuffed monkey down from the ceiling with a rifle.

11:25 AM--Class ends and I have a break before Music Theory so I head to Schapiro to finish up the compositions.

1:00 PM--Music Theory starts in ten minutes so I head over. I realize on the way there that I forgot to get lunch, which makes me mildly annoyed.

2:25 PM--I go to JJ’s to get some snacks that will count as lunch for today. I sit on the lawns and work my way through an Uncrustable and get some work done. I would normally be working on CC homework because I never do it, but today I’ve got free time so I read some physics.

4:10 PM--I’ve got Ear Training. A great class, but it’s only an hour long and I wish it were longer. Basically all we do is work on sight-singing and rhythm dictation. If being a music major only consisted of learning complex rhythms, I would be so happy.

5:00 PM--Class has ended. I head to Starr library to take a nap.

6:10 PM-- I head to CC. Today’s class is about Aquinas, some guy who was deeply invested in defending Catholicism from Muslims and was heavily inspired by Aristotle. I realize halfway through the class that I didn’t know there were two assigned readings, and I only read one of them. But for the first half of class I am incredibly useful to the conversation.

My professor is a round, clearly gay man who flaunts his homosexuality at every passing chance. He sometimes cold-calls people to answer questions, but those questions are never directly about the text and for that I am grateful. He steers conversation in a remarkably efficient way, and I never feel like I haven’t talked about a topic I really wanted to talk about. I hated this class at the beginning of the semester but now I’ve come to like it.

8:00 PM--Class is done for the day, and the second I step out of Hamilton I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Tuesday and Thursday nights are like my Fridays in the middle of the week; I can breathe a little bit, and not worry about impending responsibilities until the next morning. So I head home with a spring in my step. I decide to walk home instead of taking the subway.

I get home and decide to put off studying since I don’t have anything actually due tomorrow. I work a bit on this article I’m writing for The Spectator and FaceTime a guy I’m seeing. He’s interning for J.P. Morgan this coming summer. It’s a shame we’re not dating because why be rich when you can marry rich, you feel me? But I’m not looking for a relationship right now. So I end the call after about an hour, finish up my draft and send it to Co-worker, who has written a ton of articles for Spec and is my most trusted editor. He gives me feedback, and by this time it’s about 11 PM so I go take a shower and turn in for the night.

#columbia journal entry #IP #info post #a day in the life #day in the life #48 hours in the life #columbia student #college student

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