I am in need of serious advice. I am faced with the last term of my high school career, and I have been told to, "live it up. Make the most of what time you have left with those you will probably never see again. You are only in high school once," but here is my problem.....as of late I have been feeling so overwhelmed with school, scholarships, running, this singing group I'm in, etc. My time is just very strained. I just want advice on how I can live it up and make the most of this last term without feeling stressed. Is this impossible??
Thanks,
The Lizard - Layton, UT
Well, you need to go to a party with Corbin and me. We, as you know from the Fun Report that comes out weekly, are the funnest people in the world. You need to shadow our every move. Find out what makes us tick? Why are we so awesome. Why is it, that when we cough, people start dancing?
But I know your time is very valuable, and as much as you'd love to do that, you can not. So now, I give you plan B.
PLAN B: Prioritize. You've got to get rid of the stress. You can't do everything. You can't spend time with everyone. And you've got to stop worrying about doing it all. Despite what you think, the friends you really care about you will see again. And thanks to Facebook, it will pretty easy to stay in contact. When I was your age, I just had to look out at the stars and sing "Somewhere out there", hoping whomever I was missing was wishing upon that same star. But you've got the World Wide Web at your finger tips.
Do you love running ?(Say no...you die.) Do you love your singing group? (So no...I won't care all that much.) These are great things. I would not suggest dumping these things as they are things you probably won't do as an organized sport after you graduate. If you throw them out, you will regret it.
So this leaves us with school. I suggest you drop out. Okay, that is not an option either. So I guess I'll have to give you something useful.
You just have to deal with it, and not stress about it. Living it up is doing what you want to do. There is no map to living it up. Being with the people you love. Doing the things you enjoy. That is living it up. If there is something you are doing now that you don't have to do, and you don't like doing it anyway...then don't do it. Spend time doing the things you NEED to do, and the things you WANT to do. I know this sounds simple...but trust me it really is. Just do it.
You are very lucky in the fact that you have great friends that are involved in the same activities you are. What is more "Living it up" than doing what you like with people you like? Nothing. You are living it up. I know things get stressful, and that is no fun. But don't let trying to "Live it up" get in your way.
I remember starting my senior year. Unlike years prior I decided I was going to get involved. I was going to get involved with school activities outside of running and sports. So, for the first glorious week I did just that. Then I spent the next few months in a hospital bed, but I still made the most of it. As you can imagine I had a lot of time to think. I also learned that it wasn't about what I did, but who I did it with. Even though I couldn't really do anything but fill the urinal up with apple juice, and sit in my wheel chair staring at the vending machine deciding what I would get when I learned to eat again, all I looked forward to was seeing people. It was then that I realized I had been doing what I loved (Running, sports, goofing off with great friends) I had great friends. People are what make the world go round. I was amazed at the people who supported me. Past loves, old friends, lover's spurned, teammates, and casual acquaintances were all there. Most have no idea what their visits meant to me. I was a 17 year old who couldn't walk, eat, or move my left arm, but I was still living it up.
So what does this mean to you? Stop worrying about "Living it up". Do what you love, with who you love. And if you do that, you are "Living it up". I wish I had some "Magical recipe" for you, but sorry to tell you, most things in life are that simple. I don't have to jump out of a plane, ride a 75 foot wave, or climb a mountain to live it up. I just have to be sitting on my couch with my kids on my lap, jumping on a tramp with 3 little boys who think I am a stud, packing a 6 year old on a bus to Phoenix or California to a Cross Country race for 3 days or go running with my best friend who I married to be living the dream. I can even go to Davis High School where my BFF is a teacher, laugh and joke for a bit and talk running with a bunch of kids who are eager to learn a thing or two about how to run the mile, from a guy who at one time in what seems like a past life was a pretty good miler. It really doesn't get much better.
Your life is in your hands. You know what you love.
Now get out there and "Live it up."
Here are pictures of me Living it up. As you can see: No Magic involved.
Hanging with my fellas!
The family.
Hanging out with my Child bride in Monticello, Utah
Playing Hoops.
XC Camp.
Hanging out with my lady, and my bro and his lady roasting hot dogs over the stove.
A few friends.
A few more friends, and brother, and my lady.
The AF boys. We're just shot at crap after a night of camping out.
Filling balloons with shaving cream, for some reason with some roommates. I decided to seize the day and shave.
Hanging out at Albertson's at around 4 AM with Heather, Kelly, and some worker.
Running at State XC. See, I did run.
A late night of shooting hoops with the guys. We went well into the early morning hours.
Well, you need to go to a party with Corbin and me. We, as you know from the Fun Report that comes out weekly, are the funnest people in the world. You need to shadow our every move. Find out what makes us tick? Why are we so awesome. Why is it, that when we cough, people start dancing?
But I know your time is very valuable, and as much as you'd love to do that, you can not. So now, I give you plan B.
PLAN B: Prioritize. You've got to get rid of the stress. You can't do everything. You can't spend time with everyone. And you've got to stop worrying about doing it all. Despite what you think, the friends you really care about you will see again. And thanks to Facebook, it will pretty easy to stay in contact. When I was your age, I just had to look out at the stars and sing "Somewhere out there", hoping whomever I was missing was wishing upon that same star. But you've got the World Wide Web at your finger tips.
Do you love running ?(Say no...you die.) Do you love your singing group? (So no...I won't care all that much.) These are great things. I would not suggest dumping these things as they are things you probably won't do as an organized sport after you graduate. If you throw them out, you will regret it.
So this leaves us with school. I suggest you drop out. Okay, that is not an option either. So I guess I'll have to give you something useful.
You just have to deal with it, and not stress about it. Living it up is doing what you want to do. There is no map to living it up. Being with the people you love. Doing the things you enjoy. That is living it up. If there is something you are doing now that you don't have to do, and you don't like doing it anyway...then don't do it. Spend time doing the things you NEED to do, and the things you WANT to do. I know this sounds simple...but trust me it really is. Just do it.
You are very lucky in the fact that you have great friends that are involved in the same activities you are. What is more "Living it up" than doing what you like with people you like? Nothing. You are living it up. I know things get stressful, and that is no fun. But don't let trying to "Live it up" get in your way.
I remember starting my senior year. Unlike years prior I decided I was going to get involved. I was going to get involved with school activities outside of running and sports. So, for the first glorious week I did just that. Then I spent the next few months in a hospital bed, but I still made the most of it. As you can imagine I had a lot of time to think. I also learned that it wasn't about what I did, but who I did it with. Even though I couldn't really do anything but fill the urinal up with apple juice, and sit in my wheel chair staring at the vending machine deciding what I would get when I learned to eat again, all I looked forward to was seeing people. It was then that I realized I had been doing what I loved (Running, sports, goofing off with great friends) I had great friends. People are what make the world go round. I was amazed at the people who supported me. Past loves, old friends, lover's spurned, teammates, and casual acquaintances were all there. Most have no idea what their visits meant to me. I was a 17 year old who couldn't walk, eat, or move my left arm, but I was still living it up.
So what does this mean to you? Stop worrying about "Living it up". Do what you love, with who you love. And if you do that, you are "Living it up". I wish I had some "Magical recipe" for you, but sorry to tell you, most things in life are that simple. I don't have to jump out of a plane, ride a 75 foot wave, or climb a mountain to live it up. I just have to be sitting on my couch with my kids on my lap, jumping on a tramp with 3 little boys who think I am a stud, packing a 6 year old on a bus to Phoenix or California to a Cross Country race for 3 days or go running with my best friend who I married to be living the dream. I can even go to Davis High School where my BFF is a teacher, laugh and joke for a bit and talk running with a bunch of kids who are eager to learn a thing or two about how to run the mile, from a guy who at one time in what seems like a past life was a pretty good miler. It really doesn't get much better.
Your life is in your hands. You know what you love.
Now get out there and "Live it up."
Here are pictures of me Living it up. As you can see: No Magic involved.
Hanging with my fellas!
The family.
Hanging out with my Child bride in Monticello, Utah
Playing Hoops.
XC Camp.
Hanging out with my lady, and my bro and his lady roasting hot dogs over the stove.
A few friends.
A few more friends, and brother, and my lady.
The AF boys. We're just shot at crap after a night of camping out.
Filling balloons with shaving cream, for some reason with some roommates. I decided to seize the day and shave.
Hanging out at Albertson's at around 4 AM with Heather, Kelly, and some worker.
Running at State XC. See, I did run.
A late night of shooting hoops with the guys. We went well into the early morning hours.
It is these times I miss, and love most.
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