When I first arrived to college, I had a set list of all the activities I wanted to be involved in. However, that list soon changed when I was faced with the reality of college life. I realized that I didn’t have enough time to do everything I had originally wanted to do. I had to make some choices about how I would spend my time, what really mattered to me, and what I enjoyed doing.
Within the first few weeks of school, I realized that my main activity, playing on Muhlenberg’s field hockey team, basically ruled my life. I didn’t have time for other clubs or activities, and I barely had enough time to do my schoolwork and relax every day. I became upset with the fact that I couldn’t do anything else besides field hockey. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy field hockey. It was that I enjoyed so many other activities too and I couldn’t be a part of them. I have always made myself busy, but college field hockey was a new level of busy.
In high school, I was a part of choir and an acapella group. Chorus was always my favorite part of the day. About three weeks into the semester, I realized how much I missed singing. Not going to lie, I didn’t just miss it. I felt like I needed it. Singing had been my release ever since I was a little kid. I would hum and sing all the time around the house, to the point that even my mom told me to be quiet.
When I came home for Thanksgiving break, I spent part of the day at my old high school in the choir room. I sang one of my favorite songs from my senior year of acapella and I felt like I was back home again. If any of you know the song “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles, you can appreciate the rawness of the lyrics and vulnerability I was feeling when I sang it. After that experience, I came to the realization that I had to make sacrifices now that I was insanely busy. There are only 24 hours in a day and sleep is a necessity as well.