The old saying goes “April showers bring May flowers,” meaning that after a time of discomfort a period of goodwill will follow. But right now it’s not just raining — it’s pouring. All of the projects and things that I have put off are about to be due, and I am barely staying afloat.
You know that defeated feeling when you step in a puddle and your socks and shoes get all wet and then you have to walk around with cold feet that make squishy noises every time you step? That’s about where I was a week ago and where I thought I was going to be for the whole month of April.
As I was basking in the glow of procrastination, a mild panic came over me from realizing how soon deadlines were approaching. With one month left of school and more projects than I care to think about, my senioritis has gotten progressively worse. April snuck up on me like a rainstorm on a sunny day. I’m caught outside with no jacket or umbrella and responsibilities are flooding in from every direction.
Thinking back, I probably should not have spent so many weekends watching movies or going to Little Rock, but hindsight is always 20/20. Stress, like the rain of April, is rapidly taking over my life, slow at first, then it falls into a sudden downpour. If only I could sing a silly song to hold back the reservoir of anxiety like I can with the rain. “Tests, tests, go away come again another day” or never; that would be good too.
This last month of presentations, projects, tests and finals is going to be interesting to say the least. While I am still fairly overwhelmed and grossly unprepared for April, it is here nonetheless, and as I see it, I have two options. I can either do nothing and stay outside in the pouring rain or I can grab an umbrella.
Being a persistent procrastinator for most of my life, I am not typically good at changing up my entire routine and motivating myself at the spur of the moment. However, there are a few things that really do make a world of difference for me: number one being a clean room.Tidying the things around you can actually help you get in the mindset to organize and start the things you do not necessarily want to do.
Another thing that helps me is having a separate place to study and work. If I try to work on a paper in the same place that I just spent an hour watching random YouTube videos, I’m just going to wind up watching more videos than actually working on my paper. For me, I like working at the kitchen table or standing at my bed, but sometimes you just have to leave your room altogether. Go out and find your little space where you can just focus and get things done.
I’m the kind of person who has at least 10 alarms to wake me up in the morning. I pretty much ignore the first five and struggle to get out the door by the time the last one goes off, telling me I’m late for chapel… again. Usually my alarm sound is the beeps that Apple has as a default, annoying yet fairly easy to ignore, but now all of my alarms are set to play “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake. This is one of my favorites and always puts me in a good mood. How your morning goes can have an impact on your whole day, so why not start it off on a good note?
Although April is going to be extremely busy and most likely the cause of many breakdowns, I know that there is a dim light at the end of a not-so-long tunnel. Similar to the April showers saying, I have heard “Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain, but you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.”
No matter how this month turns out, for me, April won’t rain on my parade. It’ll just water the flowers for my celebratory float.
