Today I Appreciate Time to Breathe

Almost two weeks have passed without an entry posted here. What that reflects is a combination of laziness, apathy, and - well - a certain degree of negativity.

It's ironic that the latter point is a reason for not writing, for not reflecting. After all, this blog is a way to help rid myself of those negative feelings and thoughts and emotions, right? This should be the time where I'm recording and thinking more. Yet I've been stagnant and I don't really have much of an excuse for it other than the fact that one car crash, one scare over an ex-boyfriend in the hospital, and a conglomeration of other depressed feelings later, I come away with no record of what I was thinking and feeling and what I found that could potentially make me feel better.

If you ask any college student how he or she is doing, the result is inevitably, 1. "tired" and/or 2. "busy." Hence, I hate saying that lately I've been "tired" and "busy" because I feel like that adheres to this cliche of someone who likes to claim: "I HAVE SO MANY MIDTERMS AND I GO TO SLEEP AT 2:00 AM AND WAKE UP AT 10:00 AM MY LIFE IS SO TERRIBLE."

Yet if you were to ask me how I've been doing, I'd probably give you one, if not both, of the above stereotyped responses. Typically, I'm content with the "busy" part of the equation and tend to prefer a day full of class and professor meetings and club meetings and tutoring because it keeps me active and excited about the one real reason I'm even at UCLA: to learn. That business must, of course, be tempered by relaxation time and I chronically find myself unable to really strike that balance without feeling either antsy and unproductive or completely overwhelmed. This, of course, is an entirely psychologically and easily remedied issue: do less stuff and come to realize that you DO need time to relax, to breathe, to live.

This "living" is not always easy for me. In fact, I find relaxing often more difficult than I do working because it allows me time to think about emotional concerns or worry about my future. Ultimately what helps me, I suppose (and I'm still trying to figure this out every day when my tongue isn't wagging out of my mouth), is to remind myself that all of my temporary problems, all of my concerns about what other people think about me, all of my concerns about how I spend my time, about who I spend my time with, will ultimately fade with moments of companionship and reassurance that yes, I guess I'm an OK kind of girl.

For example, I saw my parents this weekend. I saw a great elementary school friend this weekend. I spent time with my roommates. It's all going to be OK.

So, today, I appreciate the time to collect myself (thank goodness for Monday holidays), to reflect upon what I could do differently than I have done these past few weeks, and to remind myself - once more - that I am capable of balance and happiness and peace.