I wanted to share these posts that I wrote when I was in fourth year university (back when Facebook had "notes" - my very first little blog!) I wanted to share them for two reasons: one, I feel you. I get it. University is hard and it sucks the life out of you. There is nothing wrong with you, you are normal, you are not broken, and you WILL recover when it is all over and done with (so keep going, you're almost there!) Two, I wanted to share BOTH parts as an overall note of hope. I put the first part (a little darker) as well as the second part (a ray of hope) so that you can see that even when you're in the darkest part of the tunnel and you cannot detect any light, if you keep going, you will come out the other side. There are multiple ways to be successful. You will make it. Even when it seems like it's too dark in front of you to believe it, if you keep going, you will make it to the other side. So read on, and enjoy! (excuse my references to outdated technologies such as msn, lol!)
Part 1: Education as the Window to Apathy
All through your life, you are told that you can’t.
As a child; you can’t touch that, you can’t play with that, you can’t eat that.
As an adolescent; you can’t go out, you can’t make the team, you can’t get him to like you.
As a student; you can’t get 80’s, you can’t get 90’s, and you can’t get perfect.
As a young adult; you can’t get that job, you can’t get into that school, you can’t do it all.
As a member of society; you can’t afford that, you can’t stay in a marriage in this day and age, you can’t live that kind of life.
Maybe it’s not on the posters; maybe it’s not in the commercials. No one says it out loud, but it’s definitely the fine print. The part where it says, “A resume is required”. That says; we are going to judge you, and you just might not measure up. Get nervous.
Read moreLife isn't easy. In fact, sometimes it downright sucks. Sometimes you work and you work and you work for something, and it all falls apart. Friendships, marriages, school, hobbies, jobs…sometimes you really give your all to something and despite your best efforts, it doesn't work out. Sometimes life takes things or people from you before you were ready to give them up.How do you keep going? Why keep trying?
Well, the first step is to be sad. Yes, I said it. Be sad. Be super sad. Cry, even. Maybe even cry a lot. For hours, if you need to. Do nothing for a while, and maybe even be unproductive. Don’t clean. Don’t be perfect. Take time off. Scrape by for a bit. Don’t pretend it is all okay.
The problem is, our culture tells us not to do this. So I’m telling you otherwise. BE SAD.
Read moreHave you ever thought about how life seemed so much faster as a child – and now you just have no idea where the time goes? For instance, I remember sitting down to watch Sesame Street as a kid, which was an hour long show – and half way through I would ask my Mom, “How much longer?” It literally seemed like that show went on FOREVER. Now don’t get me wrong, I liked Sesame Street and all, but an hour was SUCH a long time. Now I sit down and watch 3 hours of television at once and feel like no time went by at all. Also, car rides – it took on average probably 45 minutes to drive to my grandparent’s house, and each time it felt like an eternity that would never end, even though I had fun and exciting things to do in the car, like Gameboy and some books (yes, the old grey brick of a Gameboy! Woo!). But now my daily commute to work is longer than 45 minutes and it just trucks on by (except on the days with bad traffic – let’s be honest). Sometimes I get to work and barely remember driving at all – I was just lost in thought. But those 45 minutes were torturous as a child.
So why does this happen? I think we have all experienced the phenomenon as we get older, where time just seems to zip on by. Where did last month go? How is it the end of the week already?
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