One day in the life of a Brandeis Student

On some days, the hardest decision I have to make is deciding if that second doughnut is a good idea or not. Other days, I’m faced with five deadlines, volleyball practice, and a surprise birthday party I promised to go to a month ago. This is all in the beauty of college and, quite honestly, it’s what has made this whole experience exciting so far.  

It’s tough to describe a “typical” day in the life of any college student. Brandeis in particular makes it difficult with it being one short shuttle ride away from Boston, offering a plethora of opportunities to get involved (shameless plug to my last piece here), and fostering an ambitious student body with aspirations that go above and beyond most individuals my age.

A look into a day in my life will offer a microcosmic glimpse into a world of experiences that being a student here offers. Take a look at what I’m up to! 

6:50 AM

I woke up early today because my friend, Leah, told me that she could give me a ride to campus. Living a fifteen-minute walk away from Brandeis is usually no problem, but I might as well take advantage of a ride and get the day started early and on a productive note. It’s going to be a great day!

7:15 AM

My ride overslept, so I begin the angry walk to campus. 

What a lovely and chilly day to walk to campus.

8:00 AM

After sitting in the locker room for thirty minutes contemplating whether or not this is the life for me, I dragged myself into the weight room to work out. On good weeks, I am at the gym practically every weekday. On not-so-good weeks, you can find me laying in bed eating leftover Halloween candy I bought months ago. 

I have a very balanced lifestyle.

Very eager to be at the gym this morning.

9:20 AM

After the gym, I head over to the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC), buy coffee, and get some work done. I like to divide my time between work that I find enjoyable and work that is more difficult to motivate myself to start. After years of trial-and-error, I think that this is the most effective study technique for me. Today, I spent the first half of the morning on a fun little website I’m creating as a part of a post-grad job application and the second half reviewing notes for my Econometrics course.  

12:30 PM

I head to Upper Usdan where I typically have lunch with some friends. On today’s menu: overcooked pasta and vegetables that I made at the beginning of the week. With this being my first year living off campus, I have been attempting to cook more since there’s no such thing as a meal plan once I graduate. I would be lying if I didn’t say that my culinary skills have a long way to go.

2:00 PM

After lunch, I walk to my first class of the day: Money and Banking. Today’s topic is on the dynamics at work in financial crises and what impact they have on the U.S. economy. 

My lecture hall for Money and Banking.

3:30 PM

I head straight to the library to finish up a problem set I have due the next day. I split my time between that and creating an outline for this BrandeisNow piece you’re currently reading! 

5:00 PM

As the school day comes to an end, I have my last class: Public Health in the United States. In this course, we dig deep into various public health case studies to critically analyze U.S. health policies. I just finished a large group project on communicable diseases and now we are moving on to write our own op-ed on any public health concern of our choice. 

6:45 PM

Even though I went grocery shopping a couple days ago, my heart is telling me to order in Thai food. I woke up early, went to the gym, and got my work done; I deserve it! 

10:00 PM

My mother would be disappointed in me if she knew I went to a concert on a weekday. The House of Blues in Boston was calling my name and I couldn’t resist, so sorry mom! 

I’m definitely going to regret this when my alarm for my 8 A.M. class tomorrow goes off, but sometimes the memories are worth it (this is probably me justifying my poor choices)!

Liquid Stranger playing at the House of Blues.