We’ve all had days that make us feel like we are unable to keep up with everything life continues to throw at us. We’ve all had times where we could not figure out the right thing to do, the right place to go, or the right person to ask. When I experience this, I have to let go of myself, and realize that what I must do and what I need to do, can be two completely different things.

Living in such a competitive and fast-paced society, it is normal to feel conflicted between doing what you must do versus what you need to do.

What we must do are the external things, the things that we would put on a to-do list. Assignments, projects, chores, you name it. Constantly rushing from one place to the next means having to manage time, and the key to managing time well is to fit things in wherever possible. The little things in the little spaces and the bigger things come first and in greater amounts of time.

This sounds ridiculously vague, so let’s put an example to it.

Just two days ago, I had twenty minutes of free time in between the ending of my 8:00 am class and when I had to leave for my following class. I had two choices here: take a twenty-minute nap, or get ahead on Spanish homework. I had hardly slept the night before because I was up late finishing homework, and I had gotten up early to make sure I had a healthy breakfast before class. Having a tough day ahead of me, but a tougher week ahead of me, I debated the two options back and forth in my head. It may seem trivial, but I struggled with doing what I must do (the homework) versus what I need to do (get a few more minutes of sleep). I realized that I was going struggle to pay attention in my classes if I did not revitalize myself. I set an alarm (actually, I set three alarms because I can sleep through them with ease) and drifted off for a quick energy boost. That quick nap made my whole day easier and more enjoyable. Although I must do my homework and use my time efficiently in order to get everything done, I needed a little bit more sleep.

It seems typical that a college student puts sleep over everything else, even schoolwork, but I live quite the opposite lifestyle. Since school has started, I have gotten a full eight hours of sleep in a night only five times, which is not much for someone who has been in school for six weeks. I stopped prioritizing sleep and started prioritizing other people and their needs. As much as I feel the need to help others whenever possible, I forgot that it’s important to take care of myself. What I must do is put others before myself, but what I need to do is listen to myself before I make myself available to others. Between caring about everybody else, schoolwork, extracurriculars, and trying to better myself for the future during this pivotal portion of my college career, I sacrificed sleep. What I didn’t realize is that I actually worked against myself by doing that.

Yes, it’s an incredibly difficult decision to make.