Sessions with Sydney is a weekly column by features editor Sydney Ray. For more installments of Sydney’s ideas, opinions and ramblings, check out the opinions page, and check back every Friday for a new issue.

Fellow students and I nervously awaited as our teacher passed back last week’s test. I could hear my own heart beating and palms sweating as I remembered struggling through statistics problems during the exam.

I did okay on the test – well, I got a C. When thinking back, something occurred to me. I had hardly studied at all that week.

This spurred me to think about priorities and how difficult it is to balance everything I must do. I go to my job at Togo’s and Baskin Robbins, to Willow International and Fresno Christian, and to hang out sessions each week – not to mention finishing college applications.

I often feel that I am being pulled in every direction. My parents pressure me to get good grades and finish college applications. My boss encourages me to keep my schedule open and work often. My friends frequently request my presence at social outings. My editor-in-chief is always telling me to finish my articles on time.

So how should I go about managing my life and squeezing in every activity?

One thing I have learned is not to allow others to influence my priorities. This is my life. Everyone wants something different out of me, but I must choose for myself what to do and not fall into being pressured.

Also, organization is key. By making a list of priorities and arranging set amounts of time each week for each activity, I have learned how to manage and spend my time more efficiently. For example, I must tell myself that I will get through three college applications in the next week, or else they probably will not get done.

It’s hard to admit this to myself, but my friends are my first priority. It takes major amounts of will power and scheduling to make sure everything else gets done. It becomes a new priority to make sure my priorities are are in a sensible order.