Ah yes, it’s back-to-school season, friends. Time to get ourselves refamiliarized with the sensations of lectures, discussions, and homework. If you were lucky, you had the summer off and had time to cultivate your humanity instead of grinding yourself in the gears of school. If you took summer classes, you’re breathlessly running through yet another semester with an unsatisfying two week break in between.
If you work and go to school or if you are in classes full-time, library school will keep you busy. Personally, I work 40 hours and take two classes. In terms of my free time, I have about twenty minutes in the morning during which I read a book and about ten minutes of television at night before I drift off to sleep. All of my hobbies that I love and that ground me have unfortunately been cut from my schedule. There’s not a ton of wiggle room.
But what happens when you have life events that you cannot compromise? You know the big ones: weddings, births, funerals, or any other number of things that truly matter. I’ve stayed sane enough to remember that, despite the importance of school, it’s not the most important thing.
That said, I’m still trying to do the best I can. I’m turning in assignments early, letting professors know about my absences, and devising a recovery plan for when I return. But hey, I can only plan for so much and I need to be kind to myself.
I have an unhealthy tendency to blame myself if I can’t accomplish every last tiny task that could in theory be done. But we should all know that that to-do list will never get shorter or complete. There’s always more that could be done. Our expectations for ourselves and others have just gotten way too high. I’ve really had enough of this ethos.
As a result, I figure all just abandon myself to my life. Let that take the priority for once.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Melissa Grasso lives in Boston and is in her second year at Simmons University. She works as a library assistant where she specializes in course reserves, copy cataloging, and social media management. You can find her on Twitter @grassbro or LinkedIn.
Categories: Honesty, self-care, work-life balance
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