ZOE ROGERS / OPINION EDITOR

The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of  The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.

The holidays are the perfect time to practice traditions, engage in holiday-related activities and spend time with your family. For many students, however, the holidays are a difficult time to nurture family relationships because of their academics. Schoolwork such as projects, presentations, homework and exams pose a difficult obstacle for students over breaks and prevent them from spending quality time with their families during the holidays. That can create a source of guilt for college students. 

It’s easy for students to feel conflicted during the holidays when facing this dilemma. The struggle of balancing quality time with family and the pressure of completing school work on time is evident in the lives of college students, especially during Thanksgiving, or if they’re taking an online course over intersession. This difficult balance can lead to an overwhelming sense of stress in students’ minds. 

For me, and many other students throughout a variety of grade levels and majors, it can be difficult to study for an exam or complete a homework assignment in a room full of people who aren’t also working. A distracting environment poses an obstacle to productivity. When I am attempting to get school work done, and it is  nearly  impossible for me to get any substantial work done in a room full of my energetic relatives.  I would much rather have quality time with them at home and do homework when I’m at school, the place where I spend the majority of my time already. 

On many occasions over the holidays, I often find that I need to isolate myself from my family in order to get my work done. This necessary isolation creates an overbearing sense of guilt, and I face the internal battle of getting good grades or spending quality time with my family. I realized that I’m confronting frustration because I’m missing out, and stressing because I have so much school work. On top of that, my family loves to let me know that I am missing out on memories while I’m cooped up in my room studying. My brother, who I tend to see once every few months, never fails to mention how I only get to see him for a limited amount of time, but I am choosing to use this time to study instead of hanging out with him. While my brother still understands the importance of my academics, he also finds it necessary to highlight that family time is important and that it doesn’t come often. I agree with him.

It can be difficult to balance quality  time with your family and school work. Photo courtesy of @usd_business/ Instagram

Homework guilt is not just specific to family and the holidays. It can often be found in the everyday lives of college students, whether it be on weekends when all your friends are going out and you have to stay behind working on assignments, or when your roommates are staying up late having a fun conversation but you’re trapped in your room completing an assignment. But this homework guilt is found on a more extreme level over the holidays. Because of the semester coming to an end and the pressure to succeed academically and finish with a positive GPA, it’s easy to value grades over quality time. 

However, while it can be difficult to balance academics over the holiday season and breaks, there is a way to avoid this challenge. Get your work done before family gatherings, so  you  don’t  have  to  worry about missing out on family time. 

Although this approach is doable, it can oftentimes feel impossible to get your work done  before   seeing   your  family, especially if your professors’ deadlines are not holiday-sensitive. Sometimes, you just have to learn how to allocate your time wisely, and balance your school work and family. There are  numerous ways to set yourself up for success over breaks so you’re not swamped with work, including breaking your assignments into different  steps and writing out when you want to work on each part. Homework stress can be alleviated by planning ahead and organizing your work before break, as well as by assessing how much time you need to spend on your assignments so you can divide up your time evenly between school work and quality time. I experience  homework  guilt on a stronger  level  over the holidays compared to during the school year; it’s easy to feel trapped by academics, especially when professors don’t incorporate holiday friendly deadlines. 

While it’s normal to feel guilty  for giving  up quality time with your friends and family to catch up on school work, the pressure to simultaneously spend time with your family and complete  your assignments during the holidays is damaging. Homework guilt during the holidays is almost impossible to avoid when facing the battle between  homework  and family. But, once you find a way to  balance both  sides, your holiday will be much more enjoyable. 

It’s important to spend time with your loved ones over the holidays. Photo courtesy @Daeun Kim/Unsplash