I thought I had this semester mapped out perfectly in my head.

I knew how many hours I could afford to work a week, how much money I would need to make, how many classes I could handle at once, etc. So I would have expected myself to make a smooth transition from summer break to school-in-session, or at least a much smoother one.

But “did” isn’t exactly fitting because that implies that it is no longer going on.

I made the decision of moving out of my parent’s house and into my own apartment downtown in late April, and moved in as the spring semester was ending. It just felt like it was the right time, and for the most part, it has been an insightful and rewarding experience.

Since I didn’t take any classes this past summer, I only had work and recreation to balance, which I found to be relatively easy. But now, with the addition of having to go to classes and bear the workload of those classes, it is a much more daunting task to manage.

Sometimes I find myself envying the lives of my peers who are taking out student loans and able to live freely for the time being.

With spending so much time invested in the present, it’s been hard to plan or look toward the future. Because of this, I decided that it was in my best interest to change my plans and allow myself more time and flexibility in my daily routine.

I feel that this is something that is never emphasized enough: don’t spread yourself too thin. Personally, I would much rather put a lot of myself into a couple of things than some of myself into a lot of things.

In most cases, the latter of these two options will be unrewarding yet tiring and time-consuming.

I forgot that I needed time to think, to do homework, to break the perpetual flow of life and routine. I was treating time as if it were disposable – like money – but it’s not. Time shouldn’t be another variable for you to sanction off.