It’s all one, big balancing act

So I want to take a little time away from the happenings of a collegiate a cappella group to talk about…well, me. Just for this post. Even though this is a bit different than a regular post, I think it’s a part of being involved in not only collegiate a cappella groups but also any kind of student group. Sooo…

Did you know I have a life outside of No Southern Accent? I know — wild! But in all seriousness, I really am more than a part of a great singing group. I’m a student, a journalist, a sister, a daughter and a friend to people who sometimes despise singing (again — wild!) And ever since I made my final, grand return to Gainesville, I’ve had trouble balancing all of my different activities and loves. Yes, I realize it’s only been a couple of weeks since I’ve started up with NSA again and only one week of school has passed. Still, I feel the balance should be made sooner rather than later, as so not to isolate myself from any part of my life.

NSA seems to be taking up a huge part of my day. With “UF’s Got Talent!” and auditions coming up so fast (not to mention writing and editing arrangements, picking repertoire and helping out an easily flustered, knowledge-hungry new president), I’ve barely had to time to focus on other parts of who I am, especially my academics and my future career.

I am no longer working for the Alligator, but just because I’m not writing stories daily doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be listening, observing, reporting, hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, absorbing and writing about my world. My undying curiosity should never be put to rest; unfortunately, it’s taken a backseat to my duties as a leader in NSA.

I’ve also been slacking a bit with my already-overlwhelming pile of schoolwork I have waiting at my desk. “Origins of the English Language,” “A Biography of the English Language” and “The Lost Language of Cranes” are all haunting me in my sleep; I close my eyes and think about all the chapters I need to read, abstract rules I need to learn and lovely plots I must explore just to make it through my next week of class. Have I started? Of course. But doesn’t it always seem that as much as one has read, one has barely made a dent in the boulder that is academic responsibility?

And then there’s the people I love. Every phone call I’ve made this week to my family has been to discuss my end-of-September trip to Brazil, the conversation usually ending in, “Fill out your visa form NOW!” or “Have you booked your flight to THIS PLACE?” By no means am I complaining. Instead, I’m thrilled UF and my family are allowing me such an incredible opportunity to explore and expand my writing in a foreign country. However, discussions about flight itineraries aren’t that fun. Try it. It’s actually very stressful. And with all my worrying about school and this trip, along with my responsibilities to NSA, I feel quite distant from my other j-school “golden children” friends.

I was lucky enough to spend three semesters reporting, writing, editing, starving, laughing and crying in a teeny newsroom with some of the most innovative and strongest journalists at the University of Florida today. And I was even more lucky for the fact these people are now some of my closest friends. People like Katie Sanders, who spent spring semester as an intern for Congress Daily in Washington, D.C., and her summer as a reporting intern at the St. Augustines Record; and Hilary Lehman, who interned for the business desk at the Miami Herald in the spring and spent her summer as an intern for the Associated Press in Miami. Young, vibrant journalists who have spent semesters working for the St. Petersburg Times, the L.A. Times and Rolling Stone. I have the great pleasure of running with this crowd, but not as much as I have wanted to since coming back to the ‘Ville. It’s hard to connect with people who are just as busy and focused as I am, after all.

So how to balance? I can’t say I really know the best way. For me, it’s all about to-do lists, even though the previously mentioned Hilary Lehman once told me to stop making to-do lists and actually DO things. But is it normal to schedule friend time? In order to keep my social life alive, I think I’ll have to. I want to be able to be the best leader, journalist, sister, daughter and friend I can possibly be. I just don’t know how to do it.

Help!