12192011 Balancing Life

Balance? In teen lives? Yeah. Right. That's what I thought too, and unfortunately most of the time its true. Life heats up for everyone. There are ups and there are downs. And there are times when trying to balance school, friends, family, a relationship, extra curricular, and some alone time seem almost impossible. Everyone always says that if we didn't need to sleep, so much more could get done. While that is true, I've seen FAR too many people try cutting sleep down or completely out to try and make that room for everything. While it may seem like its working at first...it really is setting you up for more failure and less time being spent on the important things. Last month, I made a very special trip up to New York with a big group and while it was fun, we worked EXTREMELY hard. This meant running around doing things in extremely cold and wet weather that I was not used to, on VERY little to no sleep on some days. After this long week of sleep deprivation, I came down with a bad cold that really wipes me out.Because of it, I wasn't able to go out and do the things I really wanted and needed to do.  When it comes down to it, we all find out that balance is different for everyone and is achieved differently as well. There is a time for everything and if everyone listens to that and follows it according to how their schedules and lives work, balance is possible. Juggling school work, friends split between two different schools, extra curricular  that come into play after school and sometimes at late nights, a family that treasures its bonding time,  a boyfriend who you want to see and wants to see you, as well as time to rest and rejuvenate seems like its impossible. However, it IS possible. As my friends and I found out, school and  sleep come first followed by family friends and the boyfriend if one is present. School for us is taken care of first and foremost during the day and immediately there after. Friends come in on weekends as well as during school. Family is everyday and if there's time...on weekends. The boyfriend fits in nicely during friend slots sometimes. While it IS rather hard to juggle the people groups, most times, they're just going to have to understand when you're not able to be around all the time. Your family will be forgiving usually and your friends tend to understand better especially if a boyfriend is in the picture. The bottom line? There should be no monopolization by any one of these groups. Remembering that will keep balance.