I am in the middle of another semester right now, & I have realized something that is probably super obvious to most of you. I was thinking how we are taught that we need to “balance” our life? Sometimes I have also thought about other people who seem to do everything. They get ready, make a homemade meal, exercise, put on makeup, run a marathon, etc. Let’s face it though, it is impossible to do everything. That is such a relief to know that I can’t do it all.
After my first month of school I realized it would be impossible to get A’s in every class. Now I do think it could be technically possible to get A’s in all my classes, but if I did do that, something else has gotta give.
So for this semester in my classes I have honestly put my best foot forward when doing assignments and work that I care about & feel is important to my future. Let’s be honest, some things about school are more about loopholes or busy work than learning. I get that, but they are not on my most important list either.
I had to let something go to balance my life more= so I am doing my best, & my best is better than reaching for getting A’s this semester.
Why?
I have this strong belief that none of us can ever do “everything”. Moms, students, teachers, children. We all only have 24 hours in a day, & you really have to decide what is most important in spending your time.
This semester I have found balance in doing these simple things every day:
1. Eating dinner with my husband every night. (We have been pretty good about this, & even when I am busy, my sweet husband has driven to get me after work with homemade dinner in the car. Only to then drop me off to school to do homework.)
2. Getting 7 hours of sleep. (Some of you might think I am living the easy life over here because I get that much sleep. I don’t have kids yet, and in order to function every day from 8am-11pm I need my sleep. It helps me get more done, it is one of the only aspects of being healthy I am practicing right now too. I feel good about this decision to plan out what I need to do so I don’t go to bed super late.)
3. Attending Church & going to the Temple. (I have really been trying to give an honest effort to show that this is something I care more about than my major, or my other hobbies I could spend more time on.)
4. Reading scriptures & Praying together every day as a couple. (This has been great to take a minute and stop thinking about homework. It is something we do together, & it helps me realize how we both appreciate each other during this hard time.)
There you have it, a simple list of what I care about doing each day.
I have thrown out a few things that you might think are essentials. I didn’t want to throw them out, but I have. In December I hope to bring a few of these essential things back into my daily routine. (Notice I am waiting a month until I do so…haha I am not even going to try right now.)
1. Getting ready for the day. I think just spending more time taking care of myself. I haven’t painted my nails since summer, & I take 2 minutes tops to put my clothes on for the day. The other 8 minutes are used to brush hair, teeth, face, etc.
On Tuesday I received so many compliments from my peers about my eyes, or that I looked pretty. Thank you so much!
One Conversation went like this:
“You look nice today, have you done something different to your hair?”
“I think it’s because I am wearing makeup. It’s Tuesday & I actually got ready for the day.”
(I honestly usually only put makeup on twice a week, but I am fine with that)
2. Grocery Shopping. Yes, I have been grocery shopping once this whole semester. Luckily I have still been eating food. You see, my husband has made it his job to cook dinner & go to the grocery store. He makes homemade meals, & even went to the Farmer’s Market & loved it. That is true love.
3. Cleaning & Laundry. This sounds so bad, but yes my husband does all of this too! Seriously I don’t know where I would be without a husband. I would have no food, a dirty house, & wear the same clothes all the time.
4. Exercising & Eating right. This is something I want to be better at. I really miss it. I am usually really good at eating healthy, but it takes time to really do that the right way. I have been doing awful at it, but everything will be okay & i’ll get back to doing that again.
On a side note, a teacher I kind of haven’t cared for this semester gave me a giant raspberry truffle yesterday. We are now on better terms. & maybe I should give hime more credit for the good things he does in class.
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