Stress

I get stressed out incredibly easily. A lot of you are, I am sure, aware of that! As a college student (and the unspoken message behind that really is "as a college student who is quickly approaching her senior year and is a double major in English and American Sign Language, both highly demanding, and a minor in interpreting, the second fullest minor at Gardner-Webb-" what? you think I'm crazy? okay, moving on) I have a lot to do. Work - I tutor in English ten hours a week at school. Classes - that's 19 hours a week, plus a 3 hour lab on Tuesday nights. Extracurricular? Well, I'm not sure it really qualifies as extracurricular, but most Saturdays are taken up going to ASL workshops and/or presentations.

This spring has been hard because I finally have cavies to show! Unfortunately - I have only made it to one show. There was one last weekend - but I was in Washington for Spring break (if I'd realized there was a show before I'd bought my ticket I'd have come home early, though). I'm missing one this weekend because I have a workshop. I'd much rather go to the show (Ellie and Daydream Believer are approaching their primes quickly), but I'm required to have a certain number of hours for each class I take.

The animals are an interesting part of my life simply because they come both before and after schoolwork - before in that their basic needs are a requirement and non-negotiable on my part; after in that any grooming, showing, advertising, shipping, selling, etc., comes second to getting schoolwork done and passing classes. I tell people I can't wait until I finish school (still several years out) so that I will have more time for them - but who am I kidding?! I bet I have more time on my hands now than I will when I have a career (the real question is where is it...)

So the secret to it all, I'm discovering, is time management. And, for me, the secret to time management is routine, routine, routine!

I'm busier than I've ever been in my life, but I spend more time with the pigs than I ever have in my life, too, which is why I've got upwards of ten of them slated to hit the Southeastern show circuit. I don't get time to rest anymore in terms of reading a good book (I love reading), sitting down at the computer and writing, heading into nature and shooting a bunch of good photographs, etc.; but in a big way, the little critters are my rest. I figure I better make the most of that - they're all I've got - I don't have time for any other type of rest!

And when I can keep my life balanced - including the little critters, because they are a huge part of my life - I am, understandably, happier. I feel great pride every time I groom Ellie and Daydream Believer. I don't know how they're going to do at the shows the rest of the season. I know I really like them. But winning isn't what makes me proud - it's the fact that, regardless of how they do, I've been able to groom them well, keep them healthy (Ellie is sitting at 40 ounces - she's only 5.5 months old!), and keep them happy. I've made the time to do that.

It's funny how those "little critters" make me feel so fulfilled.