This week, I learned a little something about what it really feels like to be an adult, rather than just a \u201ccollege kid.\u201d While my time was primarily consumed with classes and homework assignments, I also continued the process of learning how to juggle school responsibilities with life responsibilities \u2013 and, how to distinguish between the two.<\/p>\n
The older you get, the farther along you\u2019ve made it through your education, the more your education becomes a life responsibility as well. But there are still other important responsibilities, like nurturing your relationship with God, keeping in touch with family back home, scheduling doctor\u2019s and dentist appointments, filling out resumes and job applications, and contemplating new, massive life decisions.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, I am realizing how my career as a \u201ccollege kid\u201d is gradually shifting into that of an adult. Monday through Friday, I am a student with a full load of 18 units, and the foundation to keep up with. On Saturdays, I am a music teacher, breakfast through dinnertime, and often a babysitter in the evening. Then on Sundays, I become a leader for my church\u2019s 4th and 5th grade girls. But 24\/7, I am a daughter, big sister of five siblings, girlfriend, board member, student, roommate, teacher, and friend.<\/p>\n
When I\u2019m dangling by a thread, my mom says to me with an empathetic smile, \u201cYou\u2019ve inherited my sickness. I always fill my plate with too much stuff.\u201d And some days, it definitely feels like I have.<\/p>\n
But you know, growing up, and battling this \u201csickness\u201d of overloading my plate \u2013 are those really such bad things? I\u2019ve always said, \u201cI\u2019m better off busy than bored,\u201d and it seems the busier I get, the more I believe it.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, I\u2019ve had such a busy week; at the end of it I\u2019m too fried to remember exactly what happened. But never in my memory have I reflected on my week with the guilt of knowing that I wasted this beautiful thing that we humans call \u201clife.\u201d<\/p>\n
To me, there are two extremes of this concept \u2013 there is the person who commits to only one pair of shoes, knowing that this will make life easy for them, and an enjoyable, riskless ride. Then, there is me, the person with about eighteen different pairs of shoes in my closet of commitments, whose ambition and passion for learning and adventuring tempts me, every day, to add another pair.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019m growing up, I\u2019m finding myself often stumbling across the latter extreme. But in truth, my life and my heart are full. God gave us this beautiful gift of life so that we could use our time to both learn and invest in our passions, and to then share those investments with others.<\/p>\n
So for now, I think I\u2019ll keep my eighteen pairs of shoes, and should my closet of commitments expand some, I\u2019ll probably add a nineteenth.<\/p>\n
After all, this is a \u201csickness\u201d I\u2019m not interested being cured from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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