Lessons from a Perpetual Student
BY: ROSEMARY PYNES
Hi friend! I’m Rosemary! To set the stage for my musings, you should know a few things about me. I studied Biochemistry at Hillsdale and graduated in 2019. During a post-college gap year, I worked in residence life at Hillsdale and managed Penny’s Coffee Shop. Currently, I’m a second-year medical student in Nebraska. Long story short: over my 24 years of life, I have been a student for 19! Moreover—the only year of my adult life that I wasn’t a student—I lived in a dorm and worked with college students. My employment line on LinkedIn should just say “perpetual student.”
I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had! There are so many joys of being a student: constantly learning new and interesting things, having many mentors and teachers as guides, and being surrounded by peers every step of the way. These are things that I have cherished during college and postgraduate education. However, there are difficult things about being a student as well: the stress of performance, not having normal “work hours”, and moving frequently (to name a few).
Some of these aspects of education have tempted me at times to see school as merely a stepping-stone to the next phase of life. But seeing college and medical school that way is not living well. Though it can be challenging, over the past several years I’ve learned that living intentionally during schooling can lead to so much fulfillment and joy amidst some of the challenges. That said, I wanted to share some of my favorite things to do to feel more human, anchored, and at peace through school.
1. Sleep! This is my favorite soap box! Learning to sleep changed my perspective so much at the end of college. During my junior year, my dad was telling me about his Lenten promises—one which included sleeping 7 hours each night. He suggested I try it out. While I was far from perfect at getting 7 hours then (and still struggle sometimes now), striving to sleep about 7-8 hours each night has been SO helpful for pretty much every avenue of wellness for me. For me, the best way to stay consistent with this is to set a bedtime for weeknights!
2. Invest in a church. I learned this best at St. Anthony’s in Hillsdale. Even if it takes some time, find a church, attend every week, go to the social activities, volunteer with their youth group, etc. You may only be a member at that church for 4 years, but the practice of forming community through worship will serve you far beyond college.
3. Recreation and Hobbies! It may feel like you have too many things on your “to-do” list to make time for doing something just for fun, but I don’t think that you’ll regret it. Since coming to medical school, I’ve discovered that I have a great love for baking! Setting aside time to bake new or old recipes brings a lot of peace to my life and is such a fun way to share joy with others. Plus—you make a lot of friends when you bring scones to 8am lectures.
4. Explore your community. Leave campus! Discover your own list of favorite restaurants, coffee shops, running trails, diners, etc. Try some place that isn’t completely full of students! Hillsdale nostalgia makes me think of Sunday morning brunch at Spanglers or Chec Rec Coffee on a Saturday morning.
5. Volunteer. One of the best ways to learn about the community outside of your campus is to give it your time and attention through service. Find a service opportunity that you enjoy and stick with it!
I hope these little tips are helpful to you in your journey as a student! Ultimately, whatever stage of life you're in, I think it's important to find ways to live well and thrive where you are.
