Mission Bay’s shoreline hosted one of San Diego’s biggest music events: Mission Bayfest in mid-October. The reggae music festival drew approximately 45,000 people, including several students from Point Loma Nazarene University. The only catch? It was right before midterms.
With headliners like Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution and Sublime, some PLNU students faced a dilemma: Hit the books or attend one of the city’s largest festivals. With exams quickly approaching, the weekend, from Oct. 17-19, tested not only study habits, but also priorities.
Several PLNU students managed to make both work in order to attend Bayfest — even if it was only for one night. For some, that required compromise and careful planning.
Taking a cautious approach to the weekend, Chloe Kennedy, a second-year business marketing major, only attended one day of the festival. With work on Friday and a midterm on Monday, Kennedy said the consequences of attending all three days would have hurt her down the road.
“I just had other responsibilities I had to account for,” Kennedy said. “I felt like one day was enough to get the full experience — more than that and I think I would’ve been tired going into midterms.”
For other students, such as Piper Gray, a second-year chemistry major, Bayfest was an escape from studying.
“It felt so great to fully disconnect from schoolwork,” she said. “During busy academic times, it’s really hard to lower stress, so having a few days of just fun really helped me reset.”
However, Gray said she questioned whether she should’ve been studying. In order to attend the festival, Gray sacrificed time for studying, resulting in a large workload. Even so, Gray said she was prepared to return on Monday and had no regrets.
“College is such a great time to do all the things,” she said. “It’s OK to go have fun as long as you can get back on track.”
Unlike Gray, not every student in attendance was able to completely step away from academics. For some, preparing for Bayfest required as much preparation as the midterm itself. With a more strategic approach to this weekend, Ethan Howard, a second-year biochemistry major, was able to enjoy Bayfest without falling behind on his studies.
Swapping the time he had for surfing with homework, Howard was able to get some study time. However, Howard was still only able to go for two of the three days.
“I planned [my work] around a week in advance,” Howard said. “I set aside time on Saturday because I thought I was going to be able to get more work done, and I knew I had no time on Sunday to do so.”
For Howard, Bayfest was a reminder that finding balance in college comes not from avoiding fun, but learning how to manage time for responsibilities. The weekend highlighted the challenge that comes with social events during a demanding academic season.
“Plan intentional fun and studying,” Howard said. “There will be less stress if you avoid trivial things like your phone, and it will give you more time for things of substance like music, surfing and studying without distraction.”
Isa Darisay