BEING A full-time student makes it tough to balance the stress of classes while also maintaining a social life. Although it is difficult, societal expectations push us to either extreme; people then cast the labels of “workaholic” or a “social butterfly” depending on our priorities. The outbreak of the pandemic has also forced students to adapt to the more limited opportunities to socialize face-to-face. The Yonsei Annals interviewed Yonsei students to hear about their balance of work and relationships.

Addie Gerszberg (Soph., UIC, International Studies)

   “I would describe myself as a workaholic who enjoys being social. Since meeting people during this pandemic has become difficult and dangerous, throwing myself into work has been somewhat of an instinct. That is not to say that I do not have a balance between work and relationships, that balance just looks different from before the pandemic: a lot more scheduling, a lot less spontaneity. Calendar in hand, I am perpetually in search of the equilibrium between things I need to do, like turning in quality assignments on time, with the things I want to do, like saving an hour to call a friend I have not seen in a while.”

Lee Seo-weon (Jr., Dept. of English Language & Lit.)

   “I think I have a pretty good balance of work and relationships. I usually blend these two together, especially by participating in extracurricular activities where people with common goals assemble to work on projects. One of my acquaintances told me that I am more devoted to work. I could not totally disagree with this statement, as I sometimes prioritize what I must do. However, if I have more leisure time, I catch up with my relationships since they are as equally significant to me as work is to my life. I do not really have any barriers or difficulties among work and relationships, since I am confident enough to say that I have a good balance of the two.”

Kim Ji-won (Sr., Dept. of Sociology)

   “Thinking about it, I think I tend to focus on my work and study more than my relationships. I think the reason is that I don't enjoy interpersonal relationships very much. I am the so-called Jip-sooni [1]. I attain more energy when I spend time alone at home than meeting people outside, so I naturally tend to spend less time on interpersonal relationships. Also, because I recognize that work and study is not something I can choose to do but must do, it seems that I prioritize it before anything else.”

Cassandra Allen (Jr., UIC, Political Science & Intl. Relations and Comparative Lit. & Culture)

   “I am the type of person who has had my entire life planned out since the seventh grade and have always known what version of myself I want to be. In this way, I probably default to the workaholic state simply because I personally owe it to myself to honor many versions of myself that have worked so hard to get to this point. But I also owe it to myself to take life a little less seriously. So, while I am not a social butterfly in the conventional sense, as in going to parties and meeting up with somebody every day of the week, I always give myself three to four hours a day for just doing things that I want to do. Many times, the thing I want to do is nothing, so I put in my headphones and go for a walk. I would take a photograph of something that makes you say “wow,” journal the random thoughts in my brain to give them life, or try to learn something not related to school. There is more to life than hitting the books, so please be brave and do things for yourself, and set boundaries in all things. Set boundaries with friends, with work, and with yourself.”

Kim Seung-hyun (Sr., Dept. of Materials Science & Engin.)

   “If I were to represent my work and social balance in a pie chart, I would say that I’m 40% a workaholic, and 60% a social butterfly. In today’s society, a new term called wolabel [2] has emerged. I think this goes to show how much working people these days also prioritize their own leisure and invest effort into spending their time to its fullest. I am aware that if one spends too much time socializing, they will unintentionally neglect their studies or work. However, I tend to spend my leisure time outside of my house through social interactions such as meeting up with friends, because I know that once I graduate, I won’t have much chance to interact with my close acquaintances.”

Kim Yea-en (Jr., Dept. of Chinese Language and Lit.)

   “Though I tend to try and balance work and interpersonal relationships, I am first and foremost a student, so I prioritize studying. For example, if I must study for an exam or do an assignment, but a friend calls me to go out and hang out, I tell them that I cannot go. But as much as I study hard, when I have time, I also meet with my friends. Or ideally, I balance both by studying with my friends. On days when I do not feel like studying, I have a cheat day where I just spend time with my friends. Studying is of course important, but sometimes I need some sort of motivation to make me study harder—for me, this is meeting friends.”

[1] Jip-sooni: A Korean slang for “homebody”

[2] Wolabel: Short for “work, life, balance” in Korean