With one month of college officially complete, it’s safe to say I’ve been pushed to my limits in ways I’m not sure I was quite ready for. My calculus professor insists I learn the derivation of every formula instead of just memorizing, my coaches aren’t afraid to push me to (and past) my breaking point, and I’m not sure of the next time I’ll actually feel well rested. I can sleep when I’m dead, right?

About a year ago I found the quote: “Someone said not to bite off more than I could chew. I said I’d rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocrity.”

I suppose I’ve resonated with it more over the last few weeks than I ever have before. I’m the type of person that tries to juggle my academics, athletics, and social life, along with clubs, family time, and the occasional moment of nothingness. While in the past I’d consider myself successful at balancing most, if not all, of those things, I’ve realized that it’s basically impossible right now, and it’s extremely frustrating. There are so many opportunities and experiences I don’t want to miss out on. It seems like every day I hear about something new that I’d love to be a part of, but there are only 168 hours in a week.

During our first week of practice, my coach had each of us fill out how we spend each hour of the average week; including sleep, class, and basically anything else you can think of. Many of us struggled to figure out the exact numbers of how much we were in class and how much sleep we get at night. However, for me it seemed as though the hours seemed to go down the drain faster than I could’ve imagined. All of a sudden I had filled 160 of my precious 168 hours with several things left to fit in. In that moment I realized that to give my all to the things I love, something has to give. As disappointing as it is, dedicating myself to a lesser amount of things I truly enjoy keeps me healthier and happier than the alternative, no matter how much it sucks having to say “no” sometimes. The only problem is finding which things to weed out.

I’d like to consider myself an ambitious person, and sometimes I still think I can do it all. Understanding my obligations and realizing that it’s impossible to do everything I want is a tough pill to swallow, but as long as I’m happy I’m okay with it. I’ve learned that to be ambitious and focused you don’t have to do everything, you just have to pick and choose what you do carefully.

Like any college kid I get distracted and I procrastinate, I fail sometimes, but I also succeed. By pushing myself every day, keeping my goals in mind, and having a little (lot) fun along the way, I should end up alright.