Gone are the days when you could have your cake and eat it too. In college, it seems there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you love.

College is the real world. We do dishes, laundry and figure out how to fix problems ourselves instead of asking an adult for help.

We are the adults.

And though we’re given a lot more opportunities in college, we are forced to choose the things we’re really passionate about.

In high school, being busy always made life a little crazy, but I was always happy doing it all because I could do it all. I could be an editor on the paper, do a fall theatre production and play a spring sport if I wanted to.

Now, I barely have time to successfully complete my homework — and I can’t even do that sometimes.

Somehow entering the “real world” means you no longer have time to do everything you love.

This is because as we move up to a higher, more difficult academic level, extracurricular activities become harder too, and with more at stake.

Everything is suddenly more serious. Everything we do has to be a step toward a successful career.

The editor of the school paper could wind up at The New York Times, the actress could be a Broadway star someday or the captain of a soccer team could go pro.

But how do we decide what we want to do? We’re young, after all. How can we choose between three or four of our favorite things based on where we want to go with them?

It’s impossible to do it all, but I invite you to try and change this. Make it possible again.

If there is something you love to do, find a way.

Not everything we do has to carry weight in our professional futures.

Allie Crimmins, a freshman from Chapel Hill, is an opinion writer.