Stress, stress, and more stress

Since starting grad school, my favorite accessory seems to be the inevitable: stress. I can't seem to get away from it. There's a certain stress that comes with school and education, more of a pressure really to do well. And I feel that's a legitimate stress. But there are so many other things that stress me out that I feel like I didn't have to worry about before. There's definitely a stress with finances, housing arrangements, friendships, and the list goes on. Being in grad school (or college in general) is kind of an awkward stage. I mean, I rely on parents for a lot of emotional and some financial support. Of course, I've also taken out loans which just adds to the pile. Right now, in the midst of this semester, some friends of mine and I are trying to figure out our living situation for the following school year. It's hard to be flooded with an overwhelming amount of school work, but to set up housing appoints, read through leases, and figure out the logistics for the unknown just makes everything that much harder. Even my friendships can be stressful. My friends are from and live all over (Louisiana to Colorado to Georgia to Pennsylvania). I definitely have to make much more of an effort to see my friends and while I do a good job of that (or so I think) it's not always easy. I guess learning to deal with all of the outside things as well as the grad school thing is just a part of the process.

So, these last couple of weeks have been crazy, but I've been doing the best that I can to deal with all of it. I'm trying to attend at least a couple of social events within my program, spend time with friends, work out, and definitely clean. All of which so far I've been able to manage. The hardest thing right now is just tying to stick to a normal sleeping pattern. I'm working on it though. This semester is in no way as bad as the past one. :)

So in an effort to be more relaxed, I'm trying to cut out some of the unnecessary tension in my life. And I came upon this really good quote that reminds me of what I'm striving for.

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." -Chinese Proverb

Couldn't have said it better myself.