I’ve never been very good at quitting. I don’t like giving up on things, and I hate feeling like I’ve wasted time and energy doing something for it to result in nothing. Naturally, this makes me a bit of a busy person- I have a lot of different hobbies and interests, and I try and squeeze them all into my schedule. Doing lots of things keeps me active and happy, so for the most part it is a very good thing.

However, sometimes in life we do have to give things up, which brings me to a very important question:

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

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After starting university, my days became very busy very fast. Not only were there the lectures to attend, but also pre-readings, homework exercises, assignments and labs to do. The struggle to keep up with the sudden workload hit me pretty hard- I became quite stressed and tired (rendering me at approximately 20% less positive than usual (OH NO!)).

I’d always felt reasonably confident in my abilities in Maths and Physics, that is, until PHYSICS 150. Originally I picked this course as it seemed right up my alley- oscillations, wave phenomena, magnetism (all topics I had covered last year), but as I soon found, the level of difficulty was very high (we were integrating to derive formulas in the first lesson) and the lectures were incredibly fast paced. With four lectures a week AND a three hour lab each week, this paper was starting to take up all of my study time, even though it was only the first week.

At this point, I had to make a tough decision. The option of quitting didn’t cross my mind for a second. Instead, I studied all week, just trying to understand what was going on in class. I got to the weekly assignment and- it was like a foreign language. I just couldn’t understand how to solve the problems. I spent more time trying to work out the questions, but it took me several hours to answer just a handful.

It was only when I got to my engineering lecture (ENGGEN 150) that I realised how far I was behind the rest of the class. I’d been so busy with Physics that I hadn’t had any time to go over the tutorial problems, meaning that I was completely lost during this lecture. With one day to go before the cut off date, I switched my Physics course for my GEN ED paper – MUS 144G.

There. Just like that. I quit.

That’s when I realised that quitting isn’t so bad after all.

ACCEPTABLE REASONS TO QUIT SOMETHING:

  1. It’s beyond your level of capability (at the moment).
  2. It’s harming you emotionally.
  3. You’re not enjoying it.
  4. There are better options out there.

If, like me, you find it hard to let go of opportunities, and you’re constantly signing up for stuff, maybe you need to cut yourself some slack, and drop a few activities. University is the best time of our lives (as I am told by multiple people) and it would be a shame not to enjoy it just because we bit off more than we could chew.

Now I’m not saying no one should ever take PHYSICS 150, because there were people in that class who were fine with it, and I might take it later (after a few more semesters), but it should be noted that it is perfectly acceptable to quit a paper if it is not working for you. Give the paper a try, and then if you’re struggling after the first week, you can always change (as long as it’s before the cut off date). After all, these changes in our lives might lead us in an entirely new and exciting direction.

I’d like to note that I am thoroughly enjoying the new paper I have picked up- MUS 144G, the lecturer is fantastic, and the content is very interesting. My timetable is looking much nicer and I’m catching up on all that ENGGEN 150 I need to. Things are looking about 20% more positive. 🙂

-Grace