I am... Working to Achieve Balance

Has anybody noticed that the blog looks a little different? :)

It's been an interesting week.
It's been an interesting couple of months, actually, but definitely an interesting week. Starting my second-to-last semester of grad school has gone a whole lot smoother than I initially expected it to. Classes aren't super crazy (or crazy at all, for that matter). My only concern has been making sure that I have time for me.

Right now I'm doing my first internship with an agency's homeless program, and I definitely don't regret my decision. I've learned so much in the last 3-4 weeks, even though I'm definitely still a newbie. Working with the homeless population has certainly been an eye-opener. In February I was doing desk work at a university's GED program, an a number of people would come in and give me the same phone number... Eventually I realized it was the number to a homeless shelter not far from there. Even so, I never knew where it was. I'd heard of a few shelters in the area, but I'd never been in them. Heck, I'd never even seen them or really knew where they were! So it's been a great experience. At least so far.

I'm still trying to find my place with the agency as an intern, though. My direct hours (far more important than my indirect, in part because that means I'll have to communicate with clients and in part because they're MUCH harder to come by) aren't coming as easily as I thought. What I was initially (not talking in sessions) didn't work for obtaining hours. But talking in session didn't work because the doctors didn't like it! But instead of telling me they told someone else to tell me... It's like "Gee, thanks a lot...".
I'm afraid I may have to do some program hopping to get my hours in... At the same time, I really hope I do. They've got classes there to teach the clients different things, from mental illness and stress management to healthy cooking, exercise, and movies. I would love the opportunity to be part of that. It would be amazing to have the chance to lead a class.

With two jobs, an internship, and three classes (one of which is for my internship) I'm learning the importance of being able to balance and prioritize. And taking my vitamins. My very first week at my internship site I was getting over a cold. It was pretty miserable, especially with the sneezing and nose running. I definitely want to take precautions against that, because being sick isn't exactly fun.

So my plans/goals did balancing my life right now?
- take my dang vitamins
- hand sanitizer is a wonderful thing
- don't sell myself short on sleep. 4-5 hours just doesn't cut it. At all.
- stick with the running. It may take time, but it's good for me when done appropriately :) and it's a pretty good self-esteem boost when I do better than I ever have.
- definitely have my homework done before class. Nothing like spacing on homework to add stress to life, huh?

Sounds like a plan to me! I started working on it a while ago, but let Operation Balance continue!

I want to be the best me that I can be.