I am no stranger to stress and anxiety. A majority of the time during the week, you will find me reorganizing my schedule in order to fit in another task that I need to rush off to in less than five minutes, or you could find me sitting on my futon with tears in my eyes as I rewatch “Modern Family” for the fifth time.
It may seem like I am exaggerating when I tell people that I have no time during the week, but it’s true. Every weeknight, I am either at a club meeting or in a night class. Living this life and having this schedule might sound insane to some people, but I love it.
I love being active and never being bored. I love being a part of The Scout, participating in improv with BBQ Kitten and spending time with my sorority.
However, with that love comes so many stressful breakdowns. I am constantly finding myself struggling to fit everything into my day, and when that happens, I break.
When I break down, I remember promises that I made to people to pull myself back up again and remind myself that I am, in fact, only human.
I promised my mom that I wouldn’t put so much pressure on myself, and I wouldn’t hold myself to an absurdly high standard that no one would be able to reach.
That’s a promise that everyone should make, as the standards that you hold for yourself are almost always going to be high – so high that a normal person would not be able to reach them.
When you find yourself trying to set that bar, take a moment to reflect and think about if what you are doing is helping you get better or if it is putting so much pressure on yourself that you are spiraling out of control.
The next promise I made was to the former Editor-in-Chief of The Scout, Angeline Schmelzer. Last year, I told her that I would take time for myself outside of school and all of my clubs. Shockingly, I have upheld that promise despite thinking I would not be able to.
I have found that when I get to the point of no return with my stress, forcing myself to watch “Modern Family” – and hopefully not cry while doing so – or another 20-minute comedy show helps me reset and do something that I enjoy.
Just sitting and watching a show or scrolling through TikTok for a few minutes is still taking time for yourself. Your mind and body need a break from all the stress, so it is important to find moments of peace. I promise that there is time in your day, even if it’s only 15 minutes.
My promise to Angeline leads me into my last promise – a promise I made to myself.
Over the summer, when my boyfriend and I were comparing schedules and talking about how much time I spent dealing with school last semester, I made a promise that if I was ever asked to go out during the weekend, I would say yes.
So far, I have done pretty well with that promise. I have become closer to people who were formerly acquaintances and I couldn’t be happier. I find myself constantly smiling and having fun when I am with them. If I didn’t stay true to my promise, then I would have never gotten to form those connections.
Even if you have a busy and stressful schedule, make sure you get out there and live your life, because you never know the chances you might miss out on.
