You are in the library, third floor to be exact. You open your textbook, notebook, and laptop. You put on your favorite headphones. You take a deep breath and brace yourself for another long night.

Two hours pass. Now three. Now four.

You keep telling yourself you can’t stop until every page has been read, every question has been answered, every assignment has been completed, and every last bit of your energy has been spent. You are left feeling accomplished. But then  disatisfaction sets in.

Now you feel lost.

As college students, we have to achieve. We have to study. We have to focus on classes. We have to be concerned with making academic progress. However, we do not have to let our studies consume us. If we do, we run the risk of becoming  the things we study instead of becoming the type of person we set out to be. We run the risk of losing our identity.

However, not everyone  whose school-related work is flowing through their veins forgets who they are. For some, school work and achieving desired academic results are how they identify themselves. That’s okay with me, as long as it’s okay with them. They are who they want to be.

Are you being the person you want to be?

We often forget that college is about becoming the person you want to be. It’s about developing identity and growing. A mentor told me that the purpose of college is to lead you in becoming a thoughtful person. He said, “The true university education is founded on the pursuit of knowledge, the asking of questions, and the questioning of answers. Others may pose meaningful questions, but it’s important that you seek your own answers. If you find your own answers, rather than depending on others, then you begin to formulate your own philosophies. It will be these philosophies that enable you to become a self-directed individual. If you think for yourself, then others will not do your thinking for you.”

In other words, being in college and developing identity are interconnected. Ask yourself why you are in college. What is most important to you?

The answer should have something to do with becoming the person you want to be. This is not defined by your major,  the classes you take,  test scores,  your GPA, your appearance,  the sports teams you’re on, or  the people you surround yourself with. Being who you want to be is defined by character and  identity. It is defined by you.

There’s a fine line between how you define yourself and your actions. Your identity defines what you do. But what you do also defines who you are. We all balance these two perspectives differently, because we all have different ways of defining ourselves. If you are experiencing difficulty with balancing these, recognize the importance of not forgetting who you are amidst the hustle and bustle of college life.

On occasion, focusing on accomplishing goals gets in the way of how we define ourselves. When Gusties set out to accomplish goals, they should identify the reason behind wanting to reach that goal. Are you wanting to achieve academic success because you want to? Or are you at college trying to become the person your parents or your friends want you to be? Sometimes we experience a dampened satisfaction after accomplishing our goals, because we know that the person who we actually are is not the person we are choosing to be.

Strive for success and progress because you want to. Don’t study because you have to; study because you want to. Don’t focus on becoming your profession or your future job. Focus on being the type of person you want to be. Then set out to accomplish your goals while being that person.

This does not mean you  have to go dump all of your textbooks in the trash and say goodbye to doing well in school. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Make sure not to forget who you are as life gets busier and more goal-oriented.

Be aware of why you do the things that you do. Intention reveals certain desires, and certain desires reveal more about your identity. Understanding your identity makes you more aware of yourself. When you are more aware of yourself, life’s path and  decisions become much easier to make.