Its All in the Attitude (And My New Hampshire Adventure!)

First, let me say that I am sorry it has been so long! I love writing posts for you all to read, but I just have not had the time these past couple weeks. (Midterms. Enough said...)

I've had more trouble with time management than I thought I would. I've always considered myself to be pretty organized. However, there is something very different about being completely in charge of every moment of my time. I was able to schedule my classes at any time that I wanted, and there is nobody now to actually make me go to them. I can eat anytime I want (well, when the dining halls are open), I can go to whatever activities I want, and I can sleep whenever I want. I've never had to make so many decisions about how to spend my time!

Now, I'm not saying I've done a bad job managing my time. However, one thing that I have had a problem with is trying to find a balance between having fun and getting work done. Wellesley is a very challenging and sometimes stressful (okay, often stressful) academic environment. When I'm not doing work, sometimes I feel really guilty for not getting anything productive done, and sometimes academics eclipses my life and I have no time for enjoyment (or little things like sleeping or doing my laundry or taking the time to eat good meals.) Often when I spend time doing fun things I end up feeling guilty later when I realize how much I have to do.

As you can imagine, this is incredibly frustrating! Will I never be able to do anything fun without a paper or a problem set or a midterm looming over me? There is always something that I could be studying or reviewing or catching up on.

Last week was one of the most academically intense weeks that I've had all semester. On Monday I had a five page paper due, Wednesday I had a test, and Thursday I had both a midterm and a calculus problem set due (which usually take me at least 7-8 hours to finish.) Not to mention the other smaller assignments I was supposed to do, including watch 2 different film versions of Hamlet, write a poem in Spanish, and several other readings and worksheets. Pretty horrible, right?

Well, I sure thought it was going to be, but I was pleasantly surprised in the end. Sure, I had to stay up until 3 in the morning working on my problem set and I still didn't finish it all the way. Sure, I spent my entire weekend writing an essay about Hamlet. Sure, I had two important tests that I spent hours studying for. Sure, I had to skip archery practice because I had too much homework to do.

But I had an awesome week.

You see, I've begun to realize that the tests and papers and problem sets will always be there. I can't stake my happiness on having all of my work finished, because that will never happen. It's all about my attitude. If I determine to have a good day, more often than not I will, no matter what I do that day. So that's why last week was a good week. I took a few moments every day to be outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. I did my best on all of my work and then stopped stressing out about it.

I know that this is something that I will keep struggling with. I guess I just wanted to remind all of you that you can't always let your circumstances dictate your emotions. It's much more about your attitude and how you react to what happens around you. All of you out there should take a break from work and do something you enjoy! There is way more to life than productivity.


Also, on a completely different note, I had an amazing weekend! I had the opportunity to go on a retreat with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship to a retreat center in New Hampshire. It was absolutely beautiful! One of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I got to go canoeing, make lots of new friends, and just get away from campus and my worries for a weekend.

Oh, and did I mention that it was beautiful there?