I am not one to have a ton of free time. Between school, work, sorority events, tutoring and design work on the side, my days during the school year tend to be heavily scheduled with just enough downtime to keep me sane.

Of course summer, as it usually does, brought upon a shift in my schedule. I'm not waking up for 8 a.m. classes. I'm not spending long nights working on term papers. And I'm not finding myself being crushed under the pressure of grade point averages and conflicting deadlines. Basically, I'm not spreading myself out incredibly thin, and for some reason, this almost feels like a bad thing. But why? Should I really feel guilty for not having a to-do list that makes me cringe?

Now, I'm not saying that we should all just try to get out of as many responsibilities as possible and have no work with all play. That's not what I mean at all. However, I do think that we give too much power to the word "busy." If someone isn't busy for a few days, then they must automatically be lazy. If someone is so busy that they have no free time and can barely fit in time to take care of themselves, then they must be respectable and really have everything in line.

The problem isn't being busy, but rather that being constantly busy seems to be so important. Whether your free time is spent doing something you love, spending time with friends, taking care of yourself or simply relaxing, it is not a bad thing. It's OK to be busy. It's also OK to not be busy.

Don't feel guilty for taking time off and don't feel lazy because your schedule isn't packed. It's taking me some time to get used to being down to one job and not having a planner filled to the brim. But hey, it's summer vacation and there's no time to feel bad for having free time.