
By far, the compliment I most frequently receive is about how many things I do and how I manage to balance them without letting anything else fail.
That, for me, is just my life. I balance a ton of extracurriculars, place a huge emphasis on school and still try to make the people in my life that I love know that I love them. On top of that, throughout my nearly five complete semesters of my undergrad, I have never missed a single class.
How do I manage to do it all? I have my priorities in order. As much as itโs a compliment, itโs a fact. And how do I do it? I avoid one simple phrase.
โI canโt. I donโt have time.โ
Hereโs a secret. None of us have time. Not a single person has enough time to do anything.
But we do it anyway.ย We donโt have time โ we make time. What gets done for each person all comes down to our priorities.
If I make a commitment, Iโm going to stick to it, no matter how busy my schedule becomes. Thatโs the thing about being reliable: you have to do it even when itโs not convenient for you. Itโs frustrating when people feel differently.
When someone makes a commitment to me, whether that be social outings, part of a group project or any other plans we may have, then drops it at the last minute, it becomes clear to me that our plans together were not a priority to them.
Thatโs fine. But if Iโm not a priority to you, you wonโt be a priority to me.ย Eventually, weโll all have to face up to the choices we make to our commitments.
Hitting the clubs the night before a midterm? Hope your memories were worth it. Cancelling plans with friends to study? I hope thatโs worth it to you, too.
Thatโs the thing about being reliable: you have to do it even when itโs not convenient for you. Itโs frustrating when people feel differently.
Even when youโre sick, whether mentally or physically, what you do comes down to your priorities. Understandably, your first priority should be your health and thatโs why we can justify taking sick days.
Faking sick? Thatโs a priority too. It shows youโd rather be in bed than going to class or to work.
Our choices will slowly shape our lives. I hope to make the choices that will lead to my goals, not to instant satisfaction. I know a lot of people donโt feel the same way. Thatโs fine, too. No matter what, something will have to be at the bottom of our line of priorities.
I often donโt place a strong enough emphasis on having fun. Everything has to be contributing to something else and I donโt take enough time just to relax and have a laugh.
Iโve accepted that โfunโ is at the bottom of my list. That works for me and itโs what Iโm comfortable with. I just donโt make time for it.
Maybe for others thatโs class, extracurriculars or even friends and family. To each their own.
However, if you donโt have time for me, Iโm not going to make time for you.
We all have busy schedules. We all have too many things going on. But if we really care, weโll put our commitments and the things and people we love at the very top.
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