In life, there are certain events that can raise the stress level on your otherwise average, run-of-the-mill, college student. For some, it's finding out you have class with an ex. For others it's finding that perfect outfit for your first fraternity/sorority party. For me, it's mid-terms.
For the past three weeks, my life consisted of nothing but exams, essays, and everything else in between. From trying to learn an entire language using only my hands to finding religious themes in pop culture, I was completely and utterly stressed. And it wasnt just my work I was stressing over. Four weeks ago, my cousin Katrina asked for help with her 6th grade Egyptian project. A week later, my good blog friend Laurie asked if I could help her 2nd grade son, John, with his Flat Stanley project. And then my friend Britney called and asked if I could help her and her husband Kevin out with their strained marriage. It was all too much.
Take my psychology class for example. I was supposed to write a five page essay on Hamlet’s speech as a window to his madness. What about the window to my madness? Didnt anybody care about the insanity I would soon find myself in? I mean, besides the authors of future college text books that would use this post to be analyzed by future psychology college students, of course.
I was beyond exhaustion and realized, way too late, that I had stretched myself way too thin. Which actually did have it's perks since I saw this pair of jeans in the mall window that were guranteed to change my life for the better. I found myself drinking massive amounts of Red Bull and coffee, sleeping only three hours a night, seeing my life, literally, pass right before my eyes. I was ready to give up. Ready to throw the towel in. Give up on school. That is until I met Judy.
It was a perfectly average Saturday afternoon, and I was visiting with my not-so-average family in Marana to discuss the upcoming Holiday seasons. And during the annual seating arrangement debacle of who sits where and why, my Aunt Mary realized she needed more diapers for her nine month old, twin sons. I was more than happy to go shop with her and headed off to a strange and unfamiliar store, called Wal-Mart. It was there, in the diaper and baby food aisle, where I was mistaken for a parent, by a parent.
Her name was Judy and judging by her blue, synthetic, poly-cotton blend vest, it was safe to assume she worked at the Wal-Mart. When Judy saw me juggling my baby cousin Santos and a pack of diapers, she saw a single parent in distress and knew the situation all too well. She herself was a single parent, trying to balance out her life with a family, a job, and the hope of better future. At first, I was mortified to learn that somebody actually thought I had the look of a single parent, since everyone knows that single parents are dishevled and tired looking, but then I remembered...so was I. So I listend as Judy imparted her single parent wisdom on me. Life's a juggling act and the longer you live it, the more things you're gonna have to balance out. Or until you retire in southern Florida in a refurbished art deco condo, near the beach.
So, I went back to the drawing board and fixed a few things. And surprisingly, so far it's all working out. I got an A on my Hamlet paper. I discovered that diet and exercise go hand in hand with religion. And I even got rid of the dark circles underneath my eyes. This juggling act wasnt exactly half bad and it was just the thing I needed to help get my life back in order. Maybe I should run away and join the circus. But then again, I dont think I was one to live the life of a carny vagabond.
For the past three weeks, my life consisted of nothing but exams, essays, and everything else in between. From trying to learn an entire language using only my hands to finding religious themes in pop culture, I was completely and utterly stressed. And it wasnt just my work I was stressing over. Four weeks ago, my cousin Katrina asked for help with her 6th grade Egyptian project. A week later, my good blog friend Laurie asked if I could help her 2nd grade son, John, with his Flat Stanley project. And then my friend Britney called and asked if I could help her and her husband Kevin out with their strained marriage. It was all too much.
Take my psychology class for example. I was supposed to write a five page essay on Hamlet’s speech as a window to his madness. What about the window to my madness? Didnt anybody care about the insanity I would soon find myself in? I mean, besides the authors of future college text books that would use this post to be analyzed by future psychology college students, of course.
I was beyond exhaustion and realized, way too late, that I had stretched myself way too thin. Which actually did have it's perks since I saw this pair of jeans in the mall window that were guranteed to change my life for the better. I found myself drinking massive amounts of Red Bull and coffee, sleeping only three hours a night, seeing my life, literally, pass right before my eyes. I was ready to give up. Ready to throw the towel in. Give up on school. That is until I met Judy.
It was a perfectly average Saturday afternoon, and I was visiting with my not-so-average family in Marana to discuss the upcoming Holiday seasons. And during the annual seating arrangement debacle of who sits where and why, my Aunt Mary realized she needed more diapers for her nine month old, twin sons. I was more than happy to go shop with her and headed off to a strange and unfamiliar store, called Wal-Mart. It was there, in the diaper and baby food aisle, where I was mistaken for a parent, by a parent.
Her name was Judy and judging by her blue, synthetic, poly-cotton blend vest, it was safe to assume she worked at the Wal-Mart. When Judy saw me juggling my baby cousin Santos and a pack of diapers, she saw a single parent in distress and knew the situation all too well. She herself was a single parent, trying to balance out her life with a family, a job, and the hope of better future. At first, I was mortified to learn that somebody actually thought I had the look of a single parent, since everyone knows that single parents are dishevled and tired looking, but then I remembered...so was I. So I listend as Judy imparted her single parent wisdom on me. Life's a juggling act and the longer you live it, the more things you're gonna have to balance out. Or until you retire in southern Florida in a refurbished art deco condo, near the beach.
So, I went back to the drawing board and fixed a few things. And surprisingly, so far it's all working out. I got an A on my Hamlet paper. I discovered that diet and exercise go hand in hand with religion. And I even got rid of the dark circles underneath my eyes. This juggling act wasnt exactly half bad and it was just the thing I needed to help get my life back in order. Maybe I should run away and join the circus. But then again, I dont think I was one to live the life of a carny vagabond.
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