The season is transitioning, weather is getting colder, leaves are changing colors, and your anxiety is shooting through the roof. As midterms inch closer and closer, homework and exams have steadily begun piling up. You can quickly find yourself swallowed up in anxiety from the to do list that does not stop growing.

As your planner fills up and your email inbox overflows with due dates, you are probably finding yourself telling your friends and family “no” a lot more often. You are so overwhelmed with exams, papers and homework that you feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

“I’m sorry I just don’t have time today”

“Actually, I have to study for a test all day, I probably shouldn’t”

“I would love to, but I have to write this paper”

My thought process: if you would love to, just do it. If you are so stressed with the amount of work you have to do, do something for yourself. Go out to dinner with your parents, go get ice cream with your friends, go to the mall and get a new outfit.

You might feel trapped in a wall of responsibilities, but it is okay to choose experiences. The test will come regardless, the paper due date is not going to move, but these moments with your friends and family will not come again.

Sometimes we get so caught up in stress and anxiety of pushing ourselves to be the best, that we forget to appreciate what is around us. We miss the moments we will remember.

My question for you is what will you remember more – the paper you got an A on or the time you laid on the football until 2:00 a.m. talking about life with your best friend? Will you remember that calculus test you studied days for or the concert that changed your life?

Throughout life, you will be forced to make choices. Every single day you have to make choices. The most important part, however, is to make these choices count. Make them memorable.

Even though you might think your life has to be centered around good grades and school work, take time to make memories because that is what will be important later on. You don’t want to tell your kids and grandchildren about the time you got an A on an essay.

When you think you can’t possibly find time for yourself, skip a responsibility and make a memory. You might regret it a few days later, but at least you’ll have a good story.