Lately, I have felt my life accumulate speed, each day something builds on top of the other and it feels like I haven’t had a second to stop. For most people summer is a time to relax, let go of their stresses and get their lives in order. For me, summer is a time of work, summer school and finding time to see all my friends. I try not to complain; I really do love everything I do. I love my jobs and I know the class I’m taking will benefit me later, but right now I have a pile of stuff that needs to be complete and I have no time to finish it.

When the weight of life comes tumbling down on you all you can do is take a step back. Look at all that needs to be accomplished. Set realistic goals for yourself to complete. Tonight my goal was to complete my homework, write this article and get ahead on work. Of course, this goal wasn’t the most realistic one in the world since I didn’t get home from work until 9:30 and didn’t start working until 10 p.m. I almost gave up on this goal once it hit 11 p.m. and I had made little progress. Then I remembered the towering pile I would only be adding this to-do list too.

So, here I am.

Typing away about who knows what. That’s kind of how life goes I guess. You start with one idea in mind and then life throws a curveball and there you are, everything up in the air with no time to process before it all falls down.

It’s hard sometimes not to feel like the witch in “The Wizard of Oz,” no, not the Wicked Witch of the West, her sister, the one that gets crushed by Dorothy’s house. Yup that’s me right now; trapped under a house, soon my ruby slippers will be taken from me and then my feet will oddly curl up under the house (that scene never made sense to me, how do her feet curl like that?!). As much as we may try sometimes we have to let everything crash down to find out what we prioritize.

Here is the greatest advice I can give to anyone going through a similar situation - we continue.

We move on and push past the difficulties in our lives for they make us stronger and each teaches a lesson of life that helps us grow. While you may feel like the sister getting crushed by the house, just remember those ruby slippers help Dorothy find her way home. That’s a strange analogy, I know, but in a way, all we are trying to do in life is find our way. So allow yourself to get lost, so that you may find yourself.