I totally was not going to write this article, but I’ve gotta be honest: I needed an easy article subject after the week I’ve had. It’s not all been super difficult, but there have been times this past week that I’ve been so stressed and low that I was starting to consider dropping out. Don’t worry, I won’t actually drop out - at least not without consulting many people and making sure if it was my only option. But now you get to hear about why my Tuesday was so rough…

I want to start off by saying that I currently have 16 credits worth of classes this semester. On top of that, I am writing for the Odyssey (obviously), the Pulse (Spring Arbor’s student-run news source), participating in a training group that I will probably write an article about in November, and being the Spiritual Life Advisor (SLA) for my floor. I’m also trying to improve my social life and meet new people so that all adds up to a stressful, busy semester. Now, if you didn’t know, I wrote a Facebook post about how rough my Tuesday morning was because out of the past three weeks that I’ve been here this semester, that day was the hardest. Here is that post:

“First, I had to wake up at 6:20 for an SLA meeting at 7. Then I ate eggs and hash browns for breakfast which normally I'm okay with, but they were very greasy today and made me nauseous. Then I drank WAY too much coffee. I ordered a large and drank it right before an hour and a half class. A class that was mostly lecture. I WAS SHAKING. TOO MUCH CAFFEINE.Then, during that class, my gum which I had meant to spit out before class started DISSOLVING IN MY MOUTH. And being the awkward person that I am, I didn't get up to spit it out. So I ended up swallowing said gum. Because of this, I almost threw up. Thankfully I did not, but that just shows that I should probably not chew gum during class. I have been up for almost five hours. It's only 11:09. I will probably be awake until 11pm at least. So much more stuff can happen, but I have faith that it will be good things. I am done complaining now.”

The rest of the day went better. Not way better, but it was okay. I had a meeting for a cool group that I’m going to be a part of this semester, but I don’t want to talk too much about that yet. But what I will say is that I was having so much anxiety about auditions for “Frankenstein.” I almost didn’t even audition, but my friends convinced me I should. I was just so nervous about the improvisation part, but I knew my monologue so well. I had been practicing so much.

We started and improv actually went really well. However, I failed my monologue. Well not failed. But I messed up so I restarted… and screwed up again. I finished it off and I was told that I came back strong, so I guess I have that going for me, even though I know I skipped over some parts. I basically went through the five stages of grief all within an hour of the audition, but now I’m at the point where I am realizing that God has a plan for this. Whether it’s getting a part in this show, another show or not at all, I will be content. I have so much going on that, even though I really want to be in a show, maybe it’s better that I just not add anything to this semester.

After auditions, I went and played a board game with some friends because I just really needed to de-stress. I was still thinking about all of the writing that I had due over the next week so I wasn’t completely stress-free, but just being with people who care about me and talking to them, letting them know some of the stuff that’s going on, that’s really helped.

I just want to end this article by saying that I appreciate everyone who commented on my Facebook post and talked to me in person telling me everything was going to be okay. I thank God that the day got better, even though it wasn’t great by any means. But I know He heard my prayers and helped me through. As far as the auditions go, I know God has some plan in mind and the way things are going, it’s probably to keep me from doing a show this semester which I just have to be okay with.

I promise that I will try to not complain as much, but I also promise that I will let you know (probably on Facebook, unless it’s also “article worthy”) if I am ever having a rough day. Furthermore, I swear that I am not dropping out of school. I mean, the plan is to finish college here, but I’m taking it one semester at a time. Well, one day at a time, but I want to at least finish this semester since I’ve put so much time and money into it already. Thank you for reading this rant. If you ever need to talk about a stressful day, know that I’m just a message away.