A Good Example

Today was definitely a good example of the idea of balance. I am the Music Director of a student-run musical theater organization on campus, and it is the Sunday before tech week. Needless to say, it is a very busy time. As per tradition, the Sunday before tech week is when we move the set pieces into the auditorium and put everything together. It is a day of heavy lifting, power drills, and painting - it is actually quite a lot of fun. However, I was only able to attend for a bit in the morning because then I had to meet with cast members to go over music, teach a voice lesson, pick up props, and go to a concert that the students in my old student-teaching placement were involved in, all before the tech run-through that night (I am currently sitting in that rehearsal). I have been going strong all day, successfully balancing my time between my duties as Music Director (meeting to rehearse with the cast as needed), as a staff member (helping to build the set and picking up props), as a voice teacher, and as a student teacher. However, what I have not had a chance to do yet is to actually write my lesson plans for the upcoming week in my new placement. This I will do right now, hopefully successfully balancing out my work throughout the day.

One may argue that I am not balancing work with play, but I can say that today has been quite fun. Being involved in this group is definitely fun, and helping to build the set is always enjoyable (especially when we get to see it completed). Plus, everything else that I do I chose, so I have fun in those things. In that respect, I feel pretty well balanced.

Something that I have learned while in college is that in order to successfully complete all of the things that need to be completed, one needs to prioritize which things are more important at the moment. Right now, the musical is first in my mind (even though I would consider student teaching to still be the most important). I am still going to complete everything that is needed, but most of my effort will be focused on the musical until it is completed. Then I will focus more on the rest of my life. In the past, student teaching has definitely been more of a focus than the musical or the other aspects of my life, as it should be. In this respect, I have been able to keep things pretty well in balance. There have definitely been some nights with very little sleep and some stressful days, but that is just the way things go sometimes...

I suppose one could argue that I should just commit to less so that I can focus more on those things... Believe me when I say that I have gotten better at saying "no" to things, but I still have much more to learn.....

Creating a Blog

I suppose I should take a moment to explain the reasoning for my creation of a blog. I am currently finishing my fourth year of undergraduate study, and I was encouraged by one of my close friends to create a blog so that we and our friends can follow each other and our travels after we all graduate. I have never felt too comfortable with the idea of blogging, but I definitely saw her point. Also, it might be nice to have an opportunity to jot down some thoughts during the time of change, even if no one actually reads them.

The name of this blog, "Achieving Balance," refers to my ideal of striving for balance in my life: balance between play and work, friends, light and dark, everything. I believe that a life in balance is truly where the idea of Nirvana lies. I was hesitant to call it "Achieving Balance," as I most definitely have not achieved this ideal, nor am I an expert on it. However, it is something that I am working for, and perhaps one day will achieve. Plus, "Working Towards Balance" and "Striving for Balance" did not quite have the same ring. Therefore, I decided to keep this name.

I hope that anyone reading this might find some useful information that they can apply to their own lives to achieve balance. Furthermore, if anyone has any advice for me, I am all ears.