A sprinter learning to pace.

Every year, I somehow find myself in different predicaments going into a UAAP/Collegiate season and this year is no different. I tried so hard to be everything all at once. I thought I was giving my all into everything I was doing when actually I was dividing myself so much and just spreading myself too thin.

I took 22(2) units (13major units) cause I wanted to speed up graduation all the while this term being 2nd of my 3 practicum terms, I wanted to be a consistent dean’s lister so I was struggling to master 7 courses, I was handling the social media accounts of three different companies, I took big responsibilities in my org to freshen up my resume and it was actually what I really enjoyed doing and to top everything off, I was training for a gold medal in what could be my last UAAP. Everything in the same 24 hours a day - 7 days a week.

I was juggling so much that I would have regular breakdowns where I would just cry out of frustration and exhaustion. I thought that was the right thing to do cause that was how I was trained. However, I was sacrificing not just my mental health, but also the quality of my work. I couldn’t understand most of the topics in class due to the diversity of different topics so my quiz grades took most of the hit, I was constantly sleep deprived so training was a battle of which was more painful; the headaches or the workout, sometimes I also forgot about the social media accounts because of school’s workload, and ask anybody around me, I was cramming everything up to the last minute.

However, even with all the consequences of what I’m doing, I still believe in giving your all to the point of breaking because I know that’s how you improve. So the only thing this situation taught me is to learn how to pace life.