Dealing With Change
I dread any form of change. Chalk it up to me being very type A and prone to anxiousness, but I just can’t deal. My palms sweat when the menu changes at Panera and I can’t find the salad I normally go for. I cringe at the thought of a far-off plan that will sway me from my daily routine. (i.e. vacations, a summer class, a possible wisdom tooth removal.) A new semester is just..too much. Does school really have to have a fall and spring semester? Can’t we just pick one and cut graduation time in half?
Haha…no, Cristina.
Change for me is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in life and I feel blessed to say that. I mean if change is the biggest of my problems, my life is pretty full and I am so lucky and undeserving of that.
But anyways, yeah…it’s hard for me.
I think college has really helped me deal better with change because in college, things change daily. One day the weather will be freezing cold and I’ll be scraping the ice off my car. Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, it warms up and I don’t need three jackets. One semester I have a handful of classes and the next semester I have a whole different handful.
I’ve also moved a lot in the past year and a half and that has helped me. I started off in one dorm, switched half way through the year, moved off campus the following year, and will move into a different place next year. I’ve had to learn to make one place a home for a few months and then to be ok with packing up and moving on to the next place just when I was getting comfortable.
So, I’m sensing a pattern. The thing that has helped me deal better with change is….change.
This is the time of year where we all feel a little thrown off by going back to school and/or returning to the non-holiday way of life (i.e. taxes, work, no more Netflix binges). I’ll admit that this is the time of year where my anxiety is at an all time high as I visit new classes and have a ton of information thrown at me in a short period of time. I know that I’m not alone and that the majority of my blog audience is feeling the same.
So this is just one example of change. The kind where you have to get back to making your own food again (which is…well, cereal for dinner). The kind where you have to get back on a schedule where you go to bed before midnight and wake up before it’s light. The kind where you have to swallow up any sadness, any sickness, and any tiredness so that you can get up and go to class, write that paper, take that test, be present at that job, and so on.
It’s not super fun at all times, but you’ve made it through before and you can do it again.
I don’t have a list of “tips” for you today when it comes to dealing with change, but I do have some reminders.
1. Take care of yourself and make time for yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep and eat well, even if you have to set alarms to remind yourself. Have Taylor Swift dance parties and have plenty of coffee dates with your friends. Buy yourself something from the Target dollar spot just for making it to class and eat lots of chocolate.
2. Surround yourself with constants. For me, it could be something really dumb like watching Gossip Girl because I’ve watched it so many times that I know the lines and what’s going to happen. Maybe it’s something deeper like prayer or expressing gratitude. Whatever your beliefs, find what centers you and what is good and familiar.
3. Remind yourself that no stressful moment is the end of the world or that one bad minute doesn’t make a bad day. It’s just school, it’s just a test, it’s just a $300 textbook (this one’s tough), and you will get through it. You only have one more semester till summer or maybe just a couple more months of work until that vacation you’re planning…enjoy it now and don’t get too worked up.
Embrace change as it comes because it will truly help you to grow, seek opportunities that take you out of your comfort zone, and have a wonderful rest of the week!
X,
Cristina
