It's easy to get caught up with all that goes on around us. It's easy for the ponderers to think big, for the active to act big, and for the scholastically inclined to study hard. What's hard for those who love to get things done and cherish hard work above all else (those who typically have hard time sleeping after a less than maximal day) is to relax. It's not natural, and it's the law of inertia in action. Those who are always moving will never want to stop and those who choose never to move will always want to rest. But life, among other things, is a magnificent balancing act. There is a time to accomplish and a time to breathe. Inhalation, exhalation, a never ending cycle of exertion and recovery. The hard part is finding the time to do what you don't always do, and for me, that is to rest.
It's important to take a day off every once in a while. I hardly fall into the trap of laziness, but quite the opposite have an almost impossible time slowing down. Sleep is tough, and I can be a bit of an insomniac. I always get caught up with that one last thing I could have done differently, or in addition, or those single opportunities I let slip by. That kind of loss is difficult for me to deal with, and I frequently have to be reminded to take a load off, to try not to do it all, and to allow my life to be filled with rest as well as action.
Ironically, during workouts, it's something I notoriously stress all the time to anyone who happens to ask me for a spot. "Breathe, breathe. Remember to breathe." I say it all the time, and I can do it while I'm lifting, but I can't take my own advice out of the weight room. I want to do as much as I can, to make as large of a positive contribution as possible, and to accomplish all I set out to do. I'm careful with the things I say I'll do and take pride in almost always completing them.
That reminds me to take out the trash tonight.
Sleep is important as well, but something I'm not always the best at attaining. It's that law of inertia, I tell you, it's not just for physical motion, it applies to everything.
Today was one of those days I tried to keep simple. It was one of those days I let myself do what I would normally consider "waste away," but rather than suffer through it and mope about it, I'm able to take pride in it. I did the things that relax me once my necessary work was out of the way instead of the things that would make maximal efficiency of the day. This journal is a day-by-day account of my daily adventures, which aren't always that adventurous, but seem to be occasionally made like a serial drama. It affects the way I live my life, knowing that it will have to be published, and that ultimately a selection of it will have to be worthy of notice.
My justification for today's lack of events was the onset of a cold. I could think that what I was doing was "working" towards recovery, as resting leads towards a goal, and this allowed me to take it easy with peace of mind. Effective chilling out. It's a concept I neglect too often, but should really take more time to consider.
Oh yeah, today was also one of the first days I've gotten several e-mails from colleges. I've gotten bits and pieces before, but today there were quite a few and had some promising scholarships inside. Not really any big name schools, but Roanoke College, Franklin & Marshall College, Colorado State, Rhodes College, Kenyon College, University of Chicago, St. Peter's College, Pace University, and Davidson College. All around the nation, all different levels of schools, all competing for American high school students' attention. It's cool to see these things, and they all leave ways of learning more. I've replied to almost all of them, just to get a broader view of all that's out there. When first I saw it this morning, I thought it was special to be called one of Roanoke's "top prospective students," to be called a Superhero by Kenyon (might want to write back on that one haha,) or to be called a "bright young student" by The University of Chicago, but then I realized in Chemistry everyone was getting all these e-mails and I really wasn't all that special at all. Still, it's pretty cool to see prestigious schools from Chicago in my inbox. Pace University, who accepts close to 80% of its applicants, not so much. That's more a degrading slap in the face.
Some of them look like really good schools though, and I'll definitely continue to look into them. Like Davidson, haven't really given them much thought before now, but they look pretty solid. Franklin & Marshall too, another unexpected, might not be a bad place to complete my undergraduate studies. I have a feeling these e-mails are just going to keep coming like a storm though, because that's basically all the University of Chicago had to say to us. The extents they all go to to flatter is astonishing, however.
Anyway, time to take out the trash and rest up some more. Maybe watch some more 24. Whatever, just signing off for now with a simplistic update to a nice, relaxing day.
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