health | Living My Full Life

Heeey there! It’s been about two weeks since I last blogged… weird! It’s also been about two weeks since I deactivated my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. During my little hiatus I learned a lot about what’s important to me in life and how I feel about blogging and social media in general.

Why I took a break from blogging and social media:
-I wanted to strengthen my relationship with God.
-I wanted to truly focus more on important relationships in my life.
-I felt like my blog was becoming too “me” focused and selfish.

How I felt:
-At first I felt almost panicked, like I was missing everything going on in the world.
-After a few days, I felt very free because I wasn’t “available” 24/7.
-It was amazing to spend less time staring at my computer and phone.
-It was also great not to read blogs and compare myself to others (I know I have the choice not to compare myself to others, but I often feel like it happens almost automatically for me).
-I felt out of sorts at times because I was so disconnected from people that I regularly talk to via blogging and social media.

Other thoughts:
-Spending less time blogging and using social media helped me become a better listener and gave me more free time to do things for others.
-I’ve learned that social media/blogging can be great, but can also take my attention away from more important things in my life if I allow them to.
-I’m struggling with feeling like I must have a blog or Facebook account in order to connect with people and learn about what’s going on in my friend’s lives. Ugh.
-I’m likely going to be reading blogs and blogging a lot less. I want to blog on my own terms–for the enjoyment of it instead of feeling like I have to document every aspect of my life and keep up with every blog out there.

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Whew, it felt good to get that off of my chest!

So, what have I been up to for the past two weeks?

Vacation Bible School at my church was great! I worked in the kitchen and Hannah and I were puppeteers.

I competed in a sprint triathlon and placed third in the 19-29 age group.

I harvested zucchini from my garden, Jimmy and I made chocolate chip and raisin zucchini bread, and I began working for my parent’s real estate brokerage (more on that in another post).

I bonded with Hannah and Felix and went swimming at a local lake.

And last but not least…

I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday morning.

My dentist told me to have them removed a few years ago but I kept putting it off. They started hurting me earlier this week, so I went to the oral surgeon on Thursday and less than 24 hours later I was in surgery. The doctor said my something was wrong with my heart during the surgery, so I have to see my regular physician on Tuesday to figure out what’s up with my ticker.

I’ve been laying around on the couch eating soup and jello and popping lots of Advil. It’s nice being babied by Jimmy, too. We rented Despicable Me last night and it was such a cute movie! Here’s to hoping I can heal up quickly with no dry sockets!

What’s going on in your life?!

After much internal debate, crying, praying, and talking with my parents and favorite communications professor/adviser, I decided to drop meteorology from my schedule.

Bye bye textbook that I wasted $92.00 on.

I wasn’t earning a low grade in the class (I had a 91% when I dropped it), but I was on my way to a low grade and more importantly, a possible nervous breakdown. I took 15 credits this semester, which is normal for me. Because I’m a junior, all of my classes are getting tougher and tougher.

Bye bye stupid clouds.

Meteorology was giving me a hard time. I was spending hours upon hours studying the textbook, taking notes, and reviewing. I guess I just wan’t getting it because my test grades kept dropping, despite me devoting more time to the class each week. I started out with test grades in the 90% range, then 80s, then 70s, and my last test grade was a 66.7%.

At that point, I had a decision to make: keep spending more time on concepts that I don’t understand and a class that is seriusly stressing me out or drop the class and probably graduate one semester late. I had never dropped a class before, so it felt like a big deal, especially considering the consequence. I really try to commit to my studies and give my full effort, so it felt like I was giving up.

Bye bye radar images that I don’t understand.

I decided to drop the class because I was too stressed out. I wasn’t taking care of myself at all. I was seriously on autopilot in my life. All I did each day was run, study, go to school, eat, and sleep. I was having to ignore the important relationships in my life, and I wasn’t putting my relationship with Christ first. I was miserable and anxious.

Yes, I will probably have to graduate one semester late. Oh well. It’s all in God’s plan. What’s more important to me is knowing my limits, enjoying my life, and putting my relationship with God first.

To be completely honest, after I dropped the class, I still went through an internal struggle. I felt guilty for not taking care of myself and I also felt guilty for dropping the class. I quickly got over it once I realized how it felt to have a little bit of free time in my life!

Bye bye wind charts that make no sense.

It’s not that I didn’t like meteorology, I really did (aside from the math aspect of the class). The material was extremely interesting to be because I’m obsessed with the weather. Liking the class made it that much harder to drop it, but I knew it was the right choice for me. I also respect meteorologists so much more now!

Of course I feel like a weenie for only taking 12 credits this semester, but I’m continually learning my limits in life. Everyone is different, and I’m happy with my decision. So is Jimmy and my family because now I have stopped complaining, crying, and begging them to help me understand my homework. I now have freedom from the anxiety that was choking me, and for that I am thankful!

I am also so thankful to my awesome communications professor, Dr. Wood. She took the time out of her day (on the weekend, too!!) to email back and forth with me and advise me with full honesty. She’s the best.

Have you ever had to drop a class or make a tough decision with long-term consequences?