THE TRUTH ABOUT A FIRST-CLASS STUDENT'S SOCIAL LIFE: LEGBO AMINA COMFORT SPEAKS

By Victor Alawode

In recent times, many students believe that an effective and productive social life cannot go hand in-hand with academic excellence.

In the light of this, through an interview with Legbo Amina Comfort – a 300 level student in the department of psychology who has maintained an outstanding record of excellence – we decided to find out if this popular claim is either true, false or somewhere in-between

Psychlens press: Hi, good day. This is Victor from Psychlens Press. Thank you for taking out time to speak with me. Before we start, can we meet you? Tell us a little about yourself: your name, level and other things we should know about you.

Comfort: Hello. Thank you so much for having me. My name is Comfort. I am a 300 level psychology student and one thing I think you should know about me is I love to talk (even though most people find that hard to believe)

Psychlens Press : Great, thanks for that. So this piece we're working on is a bit different from the usual profile pieces. We're not asking about your journey today, we're actually looking into a popular belief among students: that first-class students read 24 hours a day and basically have no social life.

We want your honest, first-hand take on this matter. Ready to dive in?

Comfort: Oh yes, I am ready. Let's get into it.

Psychlens Press: From your experience as a first class student,can you say this common belief is true, false, or somewhere in between?

Comfort: Honestly, that belief is false. Let's look at it critically, there's no way anyone would spend 24 hours of their day glued to their book when there is a whole other world outside of it.

It's all about balance.

Psychlens Press: That's a strong point.

When you say it's about balance, let's get some practical examples–what does balance actually look like for you day to day? Like, how do you split time between reading and everything else?

Comfort: Let's look at it this way. You have 24 hours in a day and time is currency; therefore, you have to spend it wisely. An average person needs 6-8 hours of sleep daily in order to stay healthy right. Take that out and you have 16-18 hours left to yourself still.

Take out 8 more hours to study in intervals. Let's say 2 hours in the morning, afternoon and evening each. Finally, you would still have 8 hours to yourself. Completely yours to do whatever you want to. This is the time most people use to unwind, hang out with friends, chase their passion and build something of their own.

If an individual spends 4 years of their life focused only on their studies, at the end of the day, you come out with just one certificate. Why not strive to have and achieve more and make the best of the little time you have.

I don't know if this makes sense but it's something I learnt early, during my 100 level days and I've seen it work for a lot of people who are still on a first class

Psychlens Press: There is still one thing that you have omitted, you have not included the lecture time in this breakdown.

Comfort: Oh yes, that was overlooked. However, if we look at it critically, we usually have an average of 3 classes at most in a day, that totals to 6 hours of lectures. This is where the balance comes in. We trade off some hours from what should be our leisure time, sleep hours and on some very busy days, study hours too. Balance does not necessarily mean equally distributing your time through the day. It's mostly about attending to what needs to be attended to first, making necessary sacrifices to meet the goal too.

Psychlens Press: So if I get you well, You're saying that sacrifice is equally as important as balance.

Comfort: Yes...that is the idea.

Psychlens Press: Now, the breakdown makes a lot of sense, and I like that you picked this up from as early as 100 level. So with that structure, the 8 hours that's completely yours, what does your social life actually look like? Has it ever been misread by classmates, like assuming you skipped something because you were reading when that wasn't the real reason?

Comfort: I've been investing more in my social life and trying to acknowledge my surroundings and the people around. Though there are some times when I feared it would affect my academics and I still do have that fear. But as they say, work smarter, not harder. That applies to studying too.

Oh maybe a few times, but we know it's all jokes and the regular teasing.

Psychlens Press: Last one. For a student who wants to strike that same balance this semester, what's one concrete thing they should start doing, and what would you tell someone who still believes you have to give up your social life to be first class?

Comfort: This sounds hypocritical because I know I don't do it often but read ahead first. Just try to get a background knowledge of what would be taught in class. Pay attention in class, take down notes (don't listen to people that say "I just need the notes to pass"), ask your coursemates and seniors for help when you do not understand certain aspects of a course. Oh yes, also read after every class or at least before the next class so that what needs to be processed does not pile up and become too much (one thing I failed to do last semester). But yeah, the key is to always be prepared.

What I would say to someone who believes they have to give up their social life to be a first class student is to "get their heads out of those books from time to time." There's a whole other world out there that you need to connect with. This is the one time in life you are surrounded with so many people, get in touch with them, market yourself to them if you are business inclined and just make the most of it. But keep in mind that balance is very important.

Psychlens Press: Wow, wow. This has been really insightful. Thank you so much for your time and honesty.

Comfort: Thank you so much. I really hope this would be helpful to anyone that comes across it.