Overwhelmed. Today has been an extremely tiring day. Not only do I feel stressed because of the course work we've been assigned so far, but I am also dealing with social activities -- mandatory social activities. Honestly, I don't object doing those activities because socializing is and has always been a crucial part of living healthy, balanced lives. The main problem here is, I don't have nearly enough time to do what I want to and need to do. Tonight, we were assigned more readings. Technically, we were given the full syllabus on Monday, but we had already more than enough readings due today that we hadn't split up the readings due Friday until today! On top of that, we also have a detailed outline of our research essay in addition to an annotated bibliography due by 4:30 PM tomorrow. And we didn't get the format of the outline until this morning.
Aside from a busy night of reading, organizing, writing, and stressing out, everyone in my suite was required to attend the "mixer" at Furnald Hall, a residential building for boys in the summer program. It serves as a model of fraternities where girls and guys were allowed to mix and party. After coming back from that, we had an hour-long discussion about what group activities we should do together as a suite for the upcoming holidays/week. I would be lying if I said that it wasn't fun, but I sincerely wished we could have arrived to the same conclusions in less time.
Given that no one has enough time to do everything, how should I prioritize and establish a balance? Something has to go, whether it is being the party-pooper in the group or the slacker in class because frankly, immersing oneself completely in two pools is impossible. Therefore, exploring one's comfort zone and finding that balance is crucial! I have yet settled on mine, but, believe me, I'm working on it!
Yueming,
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail right on the head when you wrote of the importance of balance. When you learn the secret to finding that balance, let me know so I can apply it to my own life.
Sometimes course instructors forget that their class isn't the center of the universe and that you have other obligations that can make demands of your time yet they still assign reading, research and papers as though time will stand still for you while you try to meet their goals.
The same applies to those running the programs that try to instill balance by highlighting the social nature of collegial life.
When your instructor assigns tons of work and your social directors mandate that you attend their functions, they leave you with few alternatives where you can give something up to fit them in. You either have to forego sleep or give up eating.
Of course, the last thing we want you to do is give up on your blogging. :-)