Hello wonderful people!
This has been an insanely busy week. Between work, social life, and a huge increase in my responsibilities with my local church, I feel like I haven’t had a moment to sit down. It’s been crazy! Part of me has been enjoying the craziness of running like a deranged firefighter trying to play whack-a-mole with spontaneous flares; the other part of me is exhausted and wishes that there was maybe one less fire to put out and one less thing to keep me busy. So I am tired, stressed, and satisfied all at the same time.
Part of what I have been enjoying about the chaos this past week is the opportunity to meet so many new people. Since Fall semester starts next week, a ton of new people moved into my apartment complex and there have been so many cool new people to meet! My current assignment at my church gives me a chance to get to know tons of folks right when they move into the congregation, so I’ve been able to get a nice head start on introductions. Its been so fun!
As I’ve been meeting all of these new friends, it's been interesting to see how many small and simple connections I can make with a lot of them. Lots of people have visited my hometown. Lots of people enjoy hiking or art. Lots of people care about their family. Lots of people are stressed and struggling to know what they want from their future and lots of people are trying their best to figure out what to do with their life.
I think that in general, for all our differences, we are all more alike than we sometimes think. So many of the struggles I face in life are not unique to me, and my own experience has its own flavors of challenges, the feelings I face as a result of those challenges are not unique to me. Everyone feels loss, stress, uncertainty, loneliness, hurt, and pain. Everyone feels overwhelmed at times, and everyone feels inadequate when they’re faced with a task that feels so much bigger than they are.
I think it is good to remind myself of that, when I am stressed and overwhelmed and uncertain. It is all too easy to forget that I’m not alone in those and to overlook someone else who might also be trying to fight the spontaneous fires flaring up in their own circumstances.
Go have a great week this week! Don’t forget to be mindful of the people around you when life gets crazy. I am doing fine with the stress, but others might not be, and I know that there are people in your life that could use a helping hand. And one of the things that has helped me to stay sane is that, as I get to know more people and reach out to help them, I am reminded that I am not alone and am able to enjoy the simple pleasure of human connection that we all need so badly.
So go and reach out! I know that it will make a big difference in their life, and it will make you much happier when you’re stressed, too.
Fellow students, you guys have got this. Good luck with Fall! And non-students, you don’t have this any less. Best of luck to you all.
Talk to you Saturday! For real this time haha.
