Academic Limbo

As I type this, I am ignoring several tasks of importance to my academic success. I should be studying french, history, or computer. Quite possibly I should be working on a slide show for the showchoir considering they need it tomorrow, and they paid me an eight-hundred dollar scholarship for this semester to be their public relations liaison. I should also be writing a speech for my final exam next week. Unrelated really to this post I might add that I'm writing my persuasive speech to give my listeners reasons why they should be interested in reading the newspaper. Maybe I'll gain back a few readers for our college publication before they decide to cut it off completely due to the fact that there are so many surplus papers that waste away on the stands until we replace them with the newer issues which will only do the same thing. I've ranted on that topic enough. Everybody knows that nobody reads, end of rant.
My real issue is that in today's academic schedule, most students belong to a number of factions, clubs, or scholarship programs. I get scholarships from the newspaper, the showchoir, and the band. The problem with scholarships through these work programs is that they interfere with academic excellence in many ways. For one, they require far too many class absences, resulting in slowed class performance and whatnot. I mean I can barely do well in my US History class when I actually sit through/ignore his boring lectures. How can I be expected to ace the test when I haven't even been exposed to the material because the band or showchoir had to play at some local high school?
Journalism is not as intrusive as the other scholarship programs I've described, but it can get in the way. For instance, I have no time left open on my schedule. I barely have a time slot to get a bite to eat between classes. How can I be expected to make it to the journalism department before they close when I'm booked solid with classes and labs? It's a horrifying position to be in sometimes, it truly is.
I realize I'm a first year freshman, and that, though I whine with gusto, I did survive the year in tact mentally and academically. Hopefully, during my second year of college, I may find things a bit easier to cope with. Maybe I'll come into my sophomore year with a sense of 'been there done that' and pass it off quite easily. In any event, I still do not look forward to shoving through my 19 hours of class plus extra curricula next year. It is definitely going to be a hectic year.