Dear Girl Who Does It All,

You’ve always been involved, and you’ve always loved being involved. When you came to college, it was only natural you stay involved. You jumped right into a number of wonderful organizations, and from that moment, you knew these experiences with these people were going to make you not only better from a resume standpoint, but overall, as a person. Leadership has always been your style, your mom consistently calls you “type A” for a reason. You like being in charge. Not in a mean sense, like an overwhelming dictator, but you like helping steer the direction of a project, working with others, and planning. Planning is possibly your favorite thing to do, and your color-coded planner is an indicator of that.

I don’t know when you started to become a “busy body.” Not in the sense that you’re moving all the time, but in the sense that your mind never stops running. You're always thinking about something; did you turn in that assignment, did you email that person, did you call grandma today; hell, on occasion, “did you even shower today?” Sometimes, the breakdown is inevitable. You can’t help but add one more thing to that “to-do” list, that is seemingly never ending, and it sends you over the edge. Trust me, after years of crying over the dumbest things, sometimes a pointless cry is the best type of cry. Time management is something you are forever working on.

I know at times you get really hard on yourself, and that’s okay. It’s both good and bad. It’s good because you always want to improve and you always set big goals for yourself, but you know that even if you meet a goal, there’s always room to improve from where you start. You can self reflect super easily, and pick out the flaws. The bad part of that is, that’s when you get super hard on yourself. “If I had just started that project earlier, I wouldn’t feel so rushed," “If I had studied more, I would have gotten an A instead of a B," just to name some few examples. You always seem to be hardest on yourself when you can’t complete something because you took time for yourself. “You need to stop being so selfish,” you tell yourself every single time.

But it isn’t selfishness; in fact, it’s called being a person. You need those fro yo dates, hours of laying in someone’s bed talking, socials with fraternities, anything that doesn’t involve your to-do lists, classes, or anything overwhelming. You want to feel like a 20-year-old for a little, lacking responsibilities even for a few hours, even if that means in that first half hour telling yourself “my to-do list can wait” over and over. Because those bonds you build with others are more important sometimes than a homework assignment. Those people are going to be the ones who are there for you at your worst, your best, and everything in-between. Taking even 5 to 10 hours out of your already crazy schedule to hang with some friends isn’t going to ruin your whole week. It will make you feel better emotionally, mentally, and physically.

To the girl who does it all, to put it lightly, you’re killing the game. People strive to be like you not only because of your work ethic, but because you have a personality and your heart is always open to those who need it. You are always there to help other people, but now it’s time to help yourself. Remember to take time to “just do you," and not worry about everything else that’s going on right now. You deserve it, promise.

Xoxox,