This past week was a good week for me. I wear various hats in life as a blogger, social media person, grad student, and a family member. This week was the first week that I thought I had it somewhat together since this semester started, and it taught me something about balance.
I always thought balance was supposed to be easy. Put something on either side of something and put another thing on the other side and it balances. I thought balance came naturally, and when everything was out of balance–I felt like I was failing at life. If I love everything, I thought, then I would naturally find a way to balance everything in life.
What I found out this semester though is that slacking off and binge watching all the television is so much more fun than reading books for class. Even if I love a subject I am sure that would be the case. Even if I love my national officer position, if I love my blog, I can find ways to slack off.
Balance is a knock-out, drag out fight between me and procrastination.
I never really considered this the case until I had so much going on. It's like those words that come out around this time, “Have you ever had so much to do that you just crawled into bed and did nothing.” I felt like that this entire semester. This last week when I took the time to sit down and get things done, I felt better about my life and the direction I was going.
Things are never going to be rosy. I am going to cry A LOT during this process, I am going to feel like the world is ganging up against me. I am going to feel like quitting. The important thing is to take a step back, see how I can evaluate my life, and make adjustments and balance everything out again.
In science you have to balance a scale. You have to zero it out to make sure that everything is measured correctly. Taking this week to balance out my scale, then add my duties and responsibilities back has been great. Just taking the time needed to make adjustments to how much time I am spending having fun, versus how much I am working on projects was crucial. Balance could be achieved, I just wasn't looking for it as much as I should have been.
I know these past few weeks I have made a lot of talks about similar topics. I love having a platform where I can document my feelings. Grad school isn't easy, not by a longshot. I have to learn to take the time to find my balance, and reassess how I am devoting my time throughout the week. It's sad that I am thinking about this at the end of the semester, but better late than never.
Thanks again to all my readers for sticking by me as I go through the highs and lows of graduate school. I really appreciate having someone to talk to about these topics and getting this information out of my head in a judgement free environment.
