The Balancing Act

The asparagus steamed; the chicken sautéed. The aroma of potential burnt chicken and red peppers frothing the air. While I was controlling the tasks in front of me, I briefly considered the challenges of not only the cooking of my first, genuine meal but also of the time for my class work, planning a trip, and arranging to go to bed at a decent hour, which were consecutively before me. It seems that the past few months have put forth more challenges, I mean, opportunities to balance my time. Yes, it is true that during college I worked, socialized, dated, had a personal life and spent time with family. However, the older I become, the more my responsibilities increase. Now, it is graduate school, a new full time career and relationship, new living spaces, domestic duties, blog writing, travel, family and the additional sporadic obstacles and setbacks that arrive into my direction. The past few months since my move, the balancing act of each of these elements is of a current state but amplified. Some may consider that I am taking on too much; that I should give myself more time to become acclimated to my surroundings and life changes. Allow myself more personal space and time. Perhaps, this is true.

However, to the wife who massages her husband's shoulders when he's had a difficult day, prepared a delicious dinner, and also attended work that day; the father who works two jobs, plays with his children before leaving for the next job, and pays the bills every month while barely having the time to rest. Or, my sister who studies for law school, finishes a cooked dinner at the similar time every night, visits with friends, and still manages to look flawless. Finally, my mother, who studied for a new career, cooked dinner, tucked me in at night, dated, and still found the capability to raise me with strong values. The notion of delaying what others are accustomed to and manage is unjustifiable. This is just the beginning of what my life entails. If I can't handle the obligations now, I will find it near impossible once I get married, birth children, and advance in my career. It is the reason I strive to do the best I can, to sacrifice when necessary, and smile despite the stress of the balancing act because I and everyone else is capable of that.

When I was in college, I learned the concept of time management. I didn't realize how much it would become a main component in my successes and confidence. The future is upon me, and I look forward to how well I manage that. After all, "Nobody said life would be easy, they just said it would be worth it."--Author Unknown

Also, the dinner turned out great. There wasn't a burnt chicken in sight, so there wasn't much to be intimidated about. The abilities of a person when they put their mind to something is astounding.