Growing up, my dad always told me that I can only be great at so many things. I cannot be perfect in everything — not matter how hard I try. He always told me I have to choose, and that I can choose God, school, soccer, relationships, TV, music, whatever I want. However, I will only be great at a few of them.

I am learning, now that I get to choose and mange my time, what is most important to me — what I want to be great at. And I am learning that it varies from day to day and that that is OK. I am very driven academically; I am a biology and English double major on a pre-med track. However, I am learning that I physically cannot be great at school every day. If all I focus on is school, I cannot possibly be the holistic person I want to be.

Now, I have to be careful and mindful of the days I choose to be or not to be important academically. I have to choose if those extra two points on a quiz are worth it to me, in comparison to spending time with a friend who needs me, or going to gospel choir to praise God. Honestly, I have struggled with this a lot. I want to be perfect in everything: a great steward of God, a great friend, a great student, a starter on my soccer team, etc. But I can’t. I do not have the time or energy to be able to do everything all of the time. So, I have to choose what is most important to me day by day.

Some days I have to choose to study instead of hanging out with friends, and sometimes I know I need the encouragement of my friends instead of beating my brains out, trying to soak up every single last fact. Moreover, sometimes I have to decide that I need time alone. I need time out where I can think, pray, relax and just breathe for a minute. I have to take stock of where I am and decide what I need to do this week and what I want to do, that way I can do as much as I want as well as I can.

Furthermore, if I only ever feed out and don't stop and take time to myself, how will I know what I really want? If all I do is the things I’ve always known, I may not know what I truly love. Because, overall, what I want to be best at is being me. I won’t have the time or energy to do everything — every assignment and every social event. However, if I wisely spread my time, I will be able to do most of the things I want to be able to do; then I won’t just be the person who did well in school or played on the soccer team.

I can only be great at so many things, but with consideration, I can increase what I am great at. I can be and do more than just average with a lot of help from God. So, I will keep working and keep trying to balance all the things I love, because God made all the facets of me for a purpose. But I will also remember that, while I love school, soccer, music and my friends, I also need to love myself and take care of myself by sleeping and spending time with me and God.