Happy Monday, Readers! I hope your week is off to a good start and your weekend was restful and relaxing.
Floating back to last week’s blog, guess where I made a visit to this past weekend? You guessed it – the breakdown chair. Now, jumping right into the topic for this week, what do you think my breakdown was about? It was about how stretched I am this semester and where my priorities lie.
At some point (preferably soon), I’m going to have to accept the fact that I am busy and that my second semester of senior year won’t be a piece of cake. I have so many activities going on in my life while my friends don’t and that’s just the way it is. That’s the way the cookie crumbled. I’m done feeling sorry for myself, I’m done feeling jealous of things I can’t control.
Instead, I need to focus on the cards I’ve been dealt. I’ve been dealt 16 credits worth of classes and homework – many people have. I work jobs on campus – many people do. I’m involved in extracurriculars – many people are! In the grand scheme of things, I am no one special here on Hope’s campus. Many people do the same things that I do every single day. However, I have professors that care about me, bosses and jobs that I love, and amazing friends that push me to be the best I can be. Although in the grand scheme of things I may be no one special, in the everyday, fine fiber of Hope College, I am a valuable piece of the puzzle.
I don’t say that to be vain or boastful, mostly just to cope with my current situation. If I’ve learned one thing within the few short weeks of the semester, it is: in order to survive and thrive in what I’ve been dealt, I need to make priorities and be present in those priorities no matter what the cost. Here are the priorities I choose to focus on every day:
- Faith
- Self
- Academics
- People (Friends/Family/Relationship)
- Work
- Extracurriculars
While they may not always be numbered in this exact order, these are the things in my life that are important to me and I like to work hard at. I value relationships, doing well in school, and performing well at my respective jobs, and while all of these priorities are important, the one I forget about most often is the priority of myself.
Self-care should be one of the most important priorities in anyone’s life. Knowing yourself and your limits are extremely important and give shape to what you want your life to be. Being an introvert with extroverted tendencies, I tend to over book my days and not take enough time to rejuvenate myself in a healthy way. A perfect rejuvenation time for me would be reading a book, journaling, or just doing anything alone. Those things take a back seat when planning my days, though – my thought process is “I can always squeeze one more meeting or coffee date into this extra hour of time.” My goal for this week and the entire semester is to focus on myself and listening to what my brain and body need, whether that be a good reading session or just taking a nap. Part of focusing on myself is living into my priorities and being present when focusing on each of them.
As we hit the ground running this week, I encourage you all to figure out where your priorities lie and figure out how to stay true to them as your lives get busier and busier. I know it will help me through this busy time of my life and I hope it will help you too!
Until next time!
