Figuring It All Out

As I come back to campus I am met with everything that bring in a new school year: they buying of books, new school supplies, the conversation that crams 3 months worth of summer into a single sentence.  A new school year brings with it a sense of new beginnings; new opportunities just waiting to be realized within the next coming months.  

With college though there is an added pressure that, in those few, precious summer months we had some relief from:  the pressure of having it all figured out.  What is "it" exactly?   It is having a plan, knowing what you want to do with your life, making goals and reaching them.  You'll find people all over campus straining and stressing trying to plan every exact detail of every waking hour.  "If I want to take this class my senior year I have to take these three now, these 2 next year and..." It's not just the students though.  Ask almost any student and they will tell you that they've had the "so what are your plans after college?" conversation. My sister has had this talk with our parents and she's not even in college yet.  

 Society want people to be in control and have a plan and ready themselves for the future.  But for me that seems like a silly thing to do.  If all you are concentrating on is getting the grade and looking to the future aren't you then neglecting the present?  If you are working so hard planning for the future that you don't have time to feel joy, will there be any joy in your future?  I know that it is important to have a plan and I find myself really stressing because I find myself at times without one; I wait until the last minutes to get something done and I feel sick and awful the entire time.  Despite all this though, I know I am able to enjoy the present and, as my theater teachers have taught me "be in the moment."

Wouldn't it be great if there was a happy middle-ground between the two? That you could plan and still make time to enjoy the now.  If anyone could do that, could you let me in on the secret, casue I would really like to know it.  

20 going on 12

Oh so my parents seem to think.  As I prepare to go off to my junior year of college I find myself resisting the urge to scream.  Like most 20-somethings I have reached the age where my parents, despite best intentions are driving me insane.  I understand that I am very lucky when it comes to parents: My parents are not divorced, love and care about me, and truly support me in my crazy endeavors. It's the little day to day, simple tasks that my parents have no faith in me to complete.   Which drive me up a wall.  While I still am financially dependent, I am now capable of doing my laundry and cleaning my room without being reminded every 10 minutes that they need to get done.   

Discovery: parents, no matter what age you are, have an amazing power to make you regress to the age of 10.  You can be the most responsible, successful adult and parent will still find something to nitpick.  Just ask Amy Borkowsky who's literally made a career with the messages her mother left her on the answering machine.  Amy takes it stride though and carries on.  But she's also moved out of her parents' house.

I don't know what this is yet...

But sure is going to be fun whatever it is.  Whenever people start a blog they're either off on some grand adventure or are just whiny and hope someone will listen to them.   I am generalizing of course but you get the drift. I am neither whiny (I hope) or off on some earth shattering, life changing adventure. I'm just living my life from day to day and decided to join the 21st century by keeping a blog about it.  I don't yet know if I'm going to be all Oprah or just write cheesy poems or make lists of things I like or things I hate but whatever I do it will be as I see it.  So...