The Overachiever

I am a self -proclaimed overachiever. I am okay with work, but I definatley didn't sign up for this.

This semster at school has been, by-far, the most stressful semester--and to think it's barely October.

It's 6 am--I have yet to go to sleep for the night. As a matter of fact, I just finished my homework. Now it's time to wash my face, brush my teeth, change into pjs, and crawl into bed...at least until my alarm wakes me up at 9 to get ready for class. It almost makes me wonder, should I just stay awake and sleep later?

Most people will say, "Well it's your problem that you are so stressed. You've taken on extra credits and more extra-curriculars then necessary." And while part of me does agree, I know I can handle the workload. I enjoy a heavy workload. I work better under pressure and, quite frankly, I study better in front of the television or with music on. Oddly, it's just the way I work.

What I did not sign up for, however, was a mass of professors who have the single-minded view that their class is the "best" class in the entire world and therefore my life should revolve around it. Sorry professors, that's just not the case.

My problem with this semster is that I have professors who refuse to assign work more than 48 hours in advance, and when they do assign it, it's hours worth of work, that clearly I cannot prepare for unless I have multiple hours to dedicate to it. Where I normally can keep two steps ahead of my work, I am working up to the minute to get things accomplished in preparation for class. Unfortunatley, I have yet to find the balance for this semester.

Granted, I am taking an extra 3-credits (one course), and while 19 credits may seem to be a large course load, I feel that if I took one class out of my schedule, I'd still have massive amounts of work to do and keep up with. On top of my class work and classes, I am president on the Society of Professional Journalists and an editor for the Quad News. Editing does take up a lot of time, but pending I have decent writers who are learning and developing in their craft, my task will get easier. Mind you, I'd also like to keep developing my own skills and maintain a somewhat steady writing schedule. And as prez of SPJ, we're working on creating a portfolio workshop for the school this fall...and I certainly can't let the ball drop on that.

My problem is that I hold my academics and my extra-curriculars at the same level of importance in my life and I refuse to let one drop and suffer to benefit the rest. I think it's important to build my resume up and my portfolio, but I also know that my transcript will say a lot about me if I end up decided to apply to grad school.

And that leads to the idea: are potential employers looking for a B+ student who is very involved or an A+ student with a dull, empty resume? But that's a different topic, for another day. Possibly a day when I have time to breathe and relax my mind.

Keep Moving Forward

It's surprising to think that six months ago my life consisted of travels and excitement, adventure and mystery.

Now instead of the ocean waves gently rocking me to sleep, I deal with late nights in the library and crawling into my squeaky, stationary bed sometime between 1 and 2 am. I no longer can talk with Kristen until the wee hours of the morning about the global exam we didn't study enough for, or our favorite memories thus far and the memories we are bound to have.

Now, my room is quiet and lonely. The open windows allow me to hear the passing cars and the quiet hooting of an owl, constantly reminding me of my static life.

It as if Semester at Sea put me on a high. Country after country, from the Taj Mahal to the Great Wall, how could you possibly be disappointed or upset about any of those experiences? Leaving each port and anticipating the next adventures only made life more exciting.

Life is different now. And that's not necessarily a good or a bad thing. It's just a fact.

I feel as if I was floating on a cloud, soaring high above the world--untouchable. And suddenly, I was dropped like a sack of potatoes, left to pick up the pieces of my life and start with this new perspective on life. The only problem is that my life didn't drop onto solid ground. Picking up the pieces isn't as easy as I anticipated it would be.

I am running in place, pushing myself faster and faster and yet I am going no where.

Instead, it's like I've fallen into a pit of quicksand. Every move I make to pick up a piece makes me sink faster. Naturally, human instinct is to stop moving. But if I stop moving, I still end up sinking. It's just a slower and longer process. So what's better? Should I sink slowly and allow life to pass me by like a movie of my life, but I'm only in the audience? Or should I keep moving? Keep pushing up, hoping to overcome the struggle?

19 credits. President of the Society of Professional Journalists. News Editor of the Quad News. And trying to find a job…it's going to be a long semester.

Just remember: deep breaths.