An aesthetic thumbnail with a title of “A Day in The Life of A MIT Student” is enough to make me drop all that I’m doing and take a short break while I watch the video and indulge in my dreams of the future. 

If you think that college vlogs are distracting me from school work, it’s actually quite the opposite. Because of the anxiety I get from doing mountains of schoolwork, I often feel the lack of inspiration to keep working. Because I sometimes wonder whether all this work will be rewarded in the end, college vlogs serve as a reminder for what my goals are and what I might have the luxury of experiencing at the end of the road. It also inspires me to keep a coordinated lifestyle and set me on the track of being productive.

Seeing the little organized dorm rooms, the grand historical towers and the massive study halls, it feels almost like a fantasy to live and study in them. The thought of living with friends and learning together in a beautiful place is extremely motivating for me.

I started watching college vlogs this year when my workload became heavier than ever. Each day, I sat in my room almost suffocating at the thought of the amount of work I have to do. A lot of times, I questioned how anyone is able to pull through this. To destress, I opened my phone and started searching for some study music on YouTube, when I accidentally looked upon a dorm room tour video by a student from Harvard. 

I immediately noticed that the organization and the aesthetic of her workspace formed a sharp contrast to my crowded desk filled with papers. Suddenly, I got an impulse to make my room look just like hers. I put away my school work and started re-organizing my room. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because that, at that time, I thought that if I began following that student’s example, it could set me on a path just like hers, even if it starts with something as small as cleaning a room.

Another video I watched is on an Ivy League student’s study tips. Immediately, I organized myself a to-do list like her and started keeping track of my assignments and test dates. Keeping everything organized on a long list really gave me a sense of accomplishment, like I finally have some level of control over the mass attack of deadlines and due dates.

Finally, I watched a five-hour study-with-me video. It’s basically someone recording themselves working, and somehow that really inspires me to start grinding along. That day, I managed to work six hours non-stop and got massive amounts of work done. It was the most productive I had been for a while, and I felt extremely satisfied.

After experiencing the benefits of letting college vlogs decide my study session for a day, I was inspired to keep my life in order. Although sometimes I still have trouble concentrating on work, at least I now have a clean room with an organized schedule. 

Thank you, college vlogs, for keeping me motivated through the treacherous times of junior year. I will definitely continue to improve my study habits and perfect my role as a student. Hopefully in the near future, I can become successful enough to experience the same adventures I see through the screens.

Photo courtesy of julia k crist (YOUTUBE.COM)