Dear Student,

Here I am writing this letter because I wanted to share something with you. As a senior at NYU Abu Dhabi, I have made choices that I have loved, regretted, and had to live with during my time here. One of these things is my decision to double major in Music and Literature and Creative Writing and the semesters of overloading that followed due to that decision.

Like many first-year students, I had entered NYUAD bursting with ambition. I dreamt of double majoring and triple minoring, convinced I could balance it all– academics, sports, and a social life. Before applying to university, I had attended one of those Zoom meetings for potential NYU students where one of the panelists (an NYU student herself) had mentioned to us hopefuls her two majors and two minors. In my naïveté, I believed that if I played my cards just right, I would be able to do as she did, satisfy as many of my interests as I could in an academic setting, and look like a genius to those around me. When I was actually accepted, I developed fantasies of studying History, Theatre, Political Science, and Philosophy alongside my two intended majors, all of which I shared with my academic advisor. But reality quickly crushed those daydreams. I could not study everything I had even the slightest interest in, thus I had to let go of my silly desires. So I abandoned the idea of four minors and– after flirting with Political Science and Theatre for a bit before deciding they were not worthy suitors– committed to only the double major.

Now you may be wondering if this is what I wanted to share with you. So far, it seems like I have been treating this space as my personal diary. But I do have a message and it is this: if you do not have to overload, if you do not have to do more than one major, then don’t. Do not feel pressured by anyone into thinking that you need to overload or double major to make your university experience more meaningful because you do not. In fact, it may cost you more than it is worth. You may say, “Is that not what you are doing?” And to that question, my answer is yes, that is indeed what I am doing. But if I had the chance to do these three years over, while I would continue with my double majors (I can acknowledge the areas in which I may seem hypocritical), I would not take on the burden of doing more than I have to if I can avoid it.

Allow me to delve again into my personal university experience. As a first year, I had known that I wanted to change the trajectory of my academic career and pursue music and creative writing instead of STEM as I had done in secondary school. In meticulously drafting my four-year plan, I saw that I could fit a whole other major comfortably into my studies without the need to take on the extra course load. So, that was what I decided to do. I chose music – my first love – as my primary major and creative writing – whom I also had a passionate affair with – as my second. But, course selection favors the few and I was not part of that group. My four-year plan had been messed up and now, I had to do something about it. For me, the solution to that something was overloading, and it became the solution for the next three years of my university life.

Was there an elective I wanted to take outside of my major? I overloaded. Was there a class I did not want to take but had to because of my majors? I overloaded again. Was I feeling like I was not doing enough and had to fill my plate just so that I could identify with the STEM majors who were constantly busy and always complaining about their course load? Yet another overload. I was already feeling like I was at some sort of academic disadvantage due to my two majors in arts and humanities. I had to make up for it somehow, and the answer to that somehow was to do more and more work until I too had reason to complain about how much I had to do. Many times I didn’t have to but I did and now, it seems to me that I have never truly had the chance to breathe and fully enjoy the things I was studying.

Of course, life is unpredictable and you may not be able to do the classes that you may need when you should. Your carefully laid out plans could get easily disrupted by things either not entirely in your control or completely out of your control. Life happens and then overloading becomes a necessity rather than a simple desire. If that happens, I will not discourage you from overloading. You gotta do what you gotta do. But know that it is not going to be a walk in the park. Or it could be if that park was on a steep, uphill slope and you’re Sisyphus pushing the boulder of all your responsibilities to the top. You may get there but more likely than not, it is going to demand so much more energy that you may not always be able to give. Take it from me, I have done it multiple times. And if you are like me, you may end up questioning your decisions in retrospect. The same, I would say, applies to double majoring. If you want to, just know what you are getting yourself into.

It is up to you to decide if you want to listen to the words of this senior. I certainly will not force you to – chances are, I may never meet you to ask if you are. But think of this as my parting gift – if it could be called this – to you. Burning out to do it all is never worth it. Trust me – you can have a meaningful college experience without overloading or spreading yourself too thin.

Sincerely,

A senior who is currently overloading.