Making Time for What Counts

Hello, readers of the great M&M!  I fear I have once again abandoned you to the great vast void, and I have come back to save you.

OK not really.

All through high school I struggled with time management.  I'd spend way too much time doing random stuff I didn't need to do instead of studying.  I would spend time surfing the internet and then be up until all hours trying to cram the homework in the night before it was due.

Needless to say, time didn't necessarily mean a whole lot to me... Well, at least until I'd wasted 99% of it.

Looking back on my high school years, I've really learned to appreciate the time I'm given.  Whether it's valuing time spent with my aging grandparents or appreciating the few hours a week I'm able to spend with my boyfriend, I've come to the conclusion that the most important time allotted to us is the time we spend with other people.

As I'm sure you're aware if you read my blog with any regularity, I'm starting my freshman year of college this fall.  I'm taking 14 credit hours, and will hopefully be working up to 30-32 hours a week.  One of the biggest questions I've been getting asked is "Jee, are we ever gonna see you during the school year?"  Until yesterday, my answer was always, "You make time for those you care about."  I won't go into why I've changed my tune a little, but I wanted to kind of talk about that saying, and why it's so true, and why it's important.

I believe that it's human nature to make time for the people we care most about.  I mean, why on earth would we want to make time for people we don't want to be around?  Really?  So, for example, since I care about my best friend Emma, if she called me at 12:30am because she wants to talk about something, I would probably answer the phone and turn the light on so I could stay awake and listen to her.  I'd be less likely to do that if someone from work did the same.  My reaction would be something like "Why the heck are you calling me in the middle of the night?  Whatever it is, it can wait."  It's because I have more of a love for Emma and I certainly care about her problems and her well-being more than one of my coworkers.  I know that sounds really horrible.  But can you see my point?

Sometimes making time for our loved ones can be a pain, an inconvenience, and even a test of our patience.  (We all have that crazy relative/friend, am I right?) That doesn't make it any less important or necessary.  I know some of you may be thinking, "Ali seriously?  You don't know my family." or something similar.  I would answer this:  No, I don't.  But you know what?  My family isn't perfect either.  My friends tick me off sometimes.  And I'm not perfect at this, but I try to still be around.  Sometimes they don't want to be around me, and I know that.  But let's think of it this way:  None of us are the easiest person to get along with.  I know sometimes your friends are more fun and less stressful to hang out with, but trust me, once you really get to know them, you'll start developing a hate list about them too.  I have them for some of my friends.  It's a part of life.  We all do things that tick other people off.

What's important is that no matter how annoying our loved ones are, we still make a little time for them.  They are important, regardless of how we may feel about them in an instant.  So this fall, I'll be trying to spend time with my family and my friends even though I'll have a busy and stressful school schedule.  I'm sure I'll mess up, but in an imperfect world, all anyone can ask of you is your best.  So give your best effort.