That’s right! It’s midterm season!

That means I’ll spend the next few weeks studying, procrastinating, studying and doing some more procrastinating. I will spend all of my bonus bucks on coffee and sub-connect sandwiches at midnight.

But wasting time, eating, drinking energy drinks and coming up with excuses isn’t the only thing that happens during this heck of a week.

I also undergo the process of, what I like to call it, being a hot mess.

My friends in college introduced me to this new but wonderful term. “Being a hot mess” is when you feel the world crashing down around you but quickly avoiding it by keeping yourself busy and smiling through it.

I asked a friend to describe what it means to them…

“It’s when you look like you have your life in order but you are really falling a part. Sometimes, it’s noticeable and other times it’s not.”

A perfect explanation.

Now, this may seem like a bad thing but in many ways it is a great thing to be a hot mess.

First of all, it gives you the space to calm down. By understanding that you need time for yourself, you revert to self-care methods and let yourself cool off. It’s therapeutic.

Second of all, it’s refreshing. Once you have that freak out moment on the hot mess express, you feel amazing. You feel like you could rule the world.

But when you allow yourself the time to listen to music, read a non-school related book or even take a long shower, you’d be amazed at how much better you feel afterwards.

And lastly, being a hot mess is a completely necessary thing to go through in life. Life is tough my lovely reader. Sometimes, you have to face that huge wave of uncertainty, deadlines and dread and let it completely smother you.

The only way to get through it is to just keep swimming.