That One Time I Had One Zillion Things to Do

Hey. Here's the thing. If you've never been a college student, here's a little insight.
It's this fun game called "this huge thing is due, but all this smaller, and yet somehow equally time consuming, stuff is due before that." It is a pain.

I have a BIG ol' research paper (my least favorite type) due for my abnormal psychology class that I did get to pick the topic which is nice. Unipolar massive depressive disorder in adolescents? Yes. I mean, that's a bummer and let's get real, I've been there, but yes that is my topic. There's quizzes left in that class but no more case studies. Yay!

I'm also writing a much smaller research paper for my play therapy seminar. That one is partially finished but is a bummer to write because I chose the topic of children who have been abused and how play therapy can benefit them. Every week for that class there is a chapter summary due, and then on the off week we have to post on a discussion board Can I get a hollaback that discussion board is a terrible thing. All you do is answer the same four questions the exact same way your peers did. And even if you wanted to do it all ahead of time, you couldn't because part of your grade is responding to two peers who said the Exact Same Thing that you did. 'Oh, good point Tina. You see, I made the same one.' Stupid.

I finished a book summary for my Healing for survivors of sexual abuse seminar, but was given a brand new assignment for that class that has really weird directions. Boo.

I have my portion of a group paper due this Friday for New Testament, looking at the role of women in the Bible and how we should apply those principles today. I also have 2 different worksheets to complete for that class, one on Hebrews and one on the general epistles. Party, but I have to be on my computer so I am going to do that this weekend maybe and then type it when I get back which means 2x as many steps as it should take.

Finally for ADC, we have a 20+ page case presentation method (CPM) that, thank goodness, we were encouraged to work together on. I've already met three times with some of my classmates, and I would say we are like 40% done. YEAH.

This weekend (Friday day, night, and Saturday day) I am going to Chicago with a one credit class called Urban Encounters. So not only do I need to finish the summary of the book for that class (I already read it), but I need to find time to do homework outside of the time that I will be occupied by that class. Boo. Also, I have like reflections and stuff like that due after the trip. That's wild.

And after alllllllll of that stuff is done, I have to study for finals. It's okay. You can laugh. I am. but only to keep from crying.
I know I only have to do this a few more times because my undergraduate career is more than half over (praise!) but every time it feels like my body is overheating and my head will pop off. That doesn't happen, but it feels like it will.

In good news today, Andrew Shaw, my very favorite Blackhawk player, signed a 2 year contract extension. Andrew Bruce, my boyfriend, had his first day of driving for his seasonal UPS gig. Both of those things are happy.
Also, it was just my grandparent's 52 wedding anniversary. SO great. I love them.
Ok, now I have to go DO all the things that I was talking about. Or attempt to do them. Or give them a try, and then drink tea, and then try again. Christmas break is soon right? Yes. I don't know that it's comforting really, because it makes the amount of time I have left seem even shorter.

The Box is Full

In my addictions counseling skills class, my prof had us do an activity that he has used in the past with his clients. This would be something you could assign as 'homework' for any client, but he worked with people who were recovering from a substance addiction.
You take a CD case with that little insert in the front and you draw an album cover and name the album. Then you make a list of songs that describe your life. If you wanna go the extra mile, you can put those songs on a blank disc in the case. 

Our prof had us do this experiment and I had a blast. That class is not always super fun but to be fair, two times a month I have a play therapy seminar after that class in which we make super hero capes out of plastic table cloths and make up a superhero name or cut yarn for little stress balls made from balloons filled with sand. So yeah, tough to compete. I really enjoyed that exercise. 

I titled my album "The Box is Full" and I drew a bin with a face on it with chaos coming out and stuff going in. At any one time, there's a lot going on. As soon as assignments are finished, more are assigned. As soon as I check something off, more things get added to my to do list. It some ways it's fun, like "hey how much can I be ahead of the game and get stuff done" and in some ways it's terrifying, world ending, "oh my gosh there's too many things and it's never ending and woah" and in some ways it's like "aww man, can't I just watch a movie and eat candy and not work so hard?" I try to choose that first way of thinking about it. 

This semester is weird because Thanksgiving is late or other stuff is early? I don't know. But what I do know is that Thanksgiving break starts in like 21 days and when we come back from that, there are only 8 days left and 3 of those are finals. WHAT in the world that's nuts. There really is a lot to get done, and sometimes I do want to sit around and do nothing. To prevent that, I have reminders on my phone, digital stickie notes with my whole day planned out including times that things occur and asterisked items that are 'must do' agenda items, and a crazy list of things to do in a composition notebook that I adopted as a planner. 

I know it will all get done. What I fear is how many hours it will all take versus how much time do I have to give to each assignment and how much time am I willing to give it and how much time will I give it. Those sound the same but they are very different things. Also, things like reading my Bible, sleeping, eating, showering, talking to family, talking to friends, talking to Andrew, and like, taking care of me and doing nice stuff for me (once a week hot breakfast is on the docket because yum, and a Blackhawks game if I can catch it) all has to fit in there somewhere. 

I thank God for bringing me to college, gifting me with the smarts, and keeping the sickness away from me right now because handling all that business plus a runny nose is not fun.  It is a LOT, but I'm so grateful because He is good and He cares for me and watches out for me. Our God is an awesome God!