As a naturally born perfectionist and control freak, my life has always been planned out to the hour. I began the semester with a solid and planned routine for my day to day responsibilities, designed with a color-coded planner, post-its, and folders. My schedule was arranged perfectly between classes, work, professor's office hours, gym workouts, and even time for myself. I was determined to focus on my school work and boost up my GPA and make a good impression on my boss. I was also committed to keeping a balanced lifestyle between the gym, "me time," and school. The first two weeks went exactly according to plan until the third week of the semester, and everything began to change.
Instead of keeping up with my fixated schedule, I was given the option to take new paths that consisted of meeting new people in professional clubs, becoming a member of these professional clubs, getting a new job, and a boyfriend. Evidently, my primary focus became things other than only academics, and at the end of the day, I've realized: the more you add to your schedule, the more time you lose to fulfill other responsibilities.
In my overall college experience, I've learned the significance and essence behind time management and priorities. As a pre-medical college student, there are so many requirements I need to complete and not enough time to do it all, which has forced me to learn that we (the students) cannot always do it all, and we have to accept that.
Hence, the past few weeks have forced me to reevaluate my priorities and accept the fact that I may not get the 4.0 GPA that I was planning to get at the beginning of the semester. I will admit that accepting this was not easy in the beginning. Changing your priorities isn't an easy thing to adapt to, but it is not the end of the world. Not getting a 4.0 GPA was not my plan but that doesn't mean my career is over or my semester is ruined. In fact, I can say that I have gained more in this semester than I have in others; I've gained more job opportunities, more professional development, better time management strategies, new relationships, and it is only half-way done.
I've learned that planning is important, but it may not always be perfect. Keeping an organized plan or creating a general plan can be helpful in setting realistic expectations and achievable goals. Life will always have unplanned and unexpected things thrown at you because it is constantly trying to present you to new opportunities and new paths. My advice to you is to not be afraid to change your plans and go after what life is offering you. Sometimes what you have planned can limit you to greater successes. Most importantly, I've come to learn that the best and most memorable things in life and some of my greatest achievements were all unplanned.
