Looking Forward to Thanksgiving Break

November 23, 2008 - 2:00 PM

I am sitting at home in my apartment across the street from the grave yard on Sunday afternoon. I have gotten all of the homework done that will be due when I return from Thanksgiving break, which is great because otherwise I would be stressing out the whole time I am gone. My stress levels are unacceptable sometimes. If I were to reduce the number of extra-curricular activities I do, then I think I would be much happier. This term I have been a Teacher's Aide for the Journalism Transfer Seminar, volunteered for Duck Preview, helped to broadcast the journalism school's Duck U Newscast, written for KD Magazine, continued an internship that I had in Portland this summer, had a small part on a TV show for the journalism school. All of this was coupled with my studies. Not to mention remembering to be a good daughter, friend, and girlfriend. I don't want to complain because I know that I am very lucky to have the opportunity to do all of these things. But one of the most important things to me is exercise. I lost about 55 lbs. this year with the help of Jenny Craig and the Student Recreation Center. I have always been overweight, and this amount of weight loss was monumental for both my physical and mental health.

Like many girls, I have some considerable body-image issues. And the fact that I have not given myself enough time to work out this term has been really hard. When I don't nurture my physical health, it is hard to concentrate on doing well in all of the other parts of my life. It seems to be impossible to let go of the need to work out when I need to be accomplishing other things. But that puts me between a rock and a hard place because sometimes there just isn't time to get some exercise, and I need to focus on completing my tasks. I guess that is what you call a catch 22.

This break should give me an opportunity to change my priorities for a while. Although I haven't gone more than two days without a workout this term, being able to plan my day around my workouts will be a luxury this holiday season. Thankfully, overworking myself is going to pay off because I will be able to have a good long stint of doing nothing but exercise, decorate for Christmas, do some unpaid freelance work, and experiment with cooking. I am a terrible cook. Because my boyfriend Collin is an Eagle Scout, he can cook better than I can. He learned some common sense for cooking during his years in scouts, and I never really learned these basic skills.

Hopefully, this break will give me the relaxation that I will need to get ready for next term, which will be void of extra-curricular activities because I will be taking a journalism class that requires a 100-page research paper. More importantly, however, is the realization that I can't go on living this way. Stints of horrendous stress matched with periods of absolutely nothing to do is not well-balanced, and the key to a happy life is balance-or so they say. But I think this is what college is about: learning to live well outside of the classroom. I adore my classes, don't get me wrong, but I think that the things that you learn about yourself, your preferences, and the way you want to live are the most important things to get out of your college years.