19 October - 25 October 2020
Hey family! This last week was a bit much for me, but the good news is that I'm still alive to write about it. Haha, no, it wasn't all that bad; however, I was very overwhelmed and anxious throughout the week. I had a lot of big things ahead of me--a midterm, a research paper. Anyways, so most of my Monday was spent working on the introduction to a paper that was due by that evening, plus a billion other things. I was so stressed about getting everything done that on Sunday, I went to bed early and then got up early. I began working on homework at 7am and continued working on things up until 9pm. But don't worry, I did take about 2 hours of a break within that time frame to eat. To reward myself for surviving through the day, I too myself out to get Thai food for dinner. I went to bed before 10pm because I was so drained.
Well, then Tuesday morning came and I felt soooo sluggish. When you push yourself hard (mentally, in this case), your body needs a break. I wearily attended all four of my classes and tried to do what I could.
Wednesday was a bit better. Instead of going into the Harmen building to work, I stayed home because I needed to film myself for a work video about connecting with students as a TA during social distancing. I also met with students to talk over the study guide for the class I TA over. They were so appreciative! Well, since I had my midterm in class the next day, I devoted some time that evening to studying (even though I really didn't want to...).
Thursdays are crazy busy. Fortunately today, my meditation class was cancelled because our teacher had to do something in Salt Lake. I took some of that time to take a nap and recover from the stress I'd been feeling. Also, to get myself through the week, I promised myself I could go out to dinner at the end of the week. That evening, I head to my Basic Mediation final, feeling alright about the upcoming final. Well, I guess I should more adequately describe my feelings as "resigned." I keep a big bag of clean masks in my backpack so I don't have to worry about remembering to grab a mask every time I leave the house. Well, I got to the building, reached into my backpack to grab a mask, and realized I'd ran out and hadn't refilled it! There was no way I was going all the way back home to grab a mask, especially since we were taking our final at the beginning of class and I didn't want to be late. So I walked into the building, kind of holding my jacket up to cover my face, and asked some of my classmates if they had an extra mask. They didn't, but one told me it would be fine if I just sat in the very back. So I sat more than 10 feet away from any of my other classmates, all the way in the back, without a mask. It was so nice to attend the 2.5 hour class without having to breathe through or talk through a mask, but as I looked around at everyone else in the class and saw that no one else was mask-free, I felt like a criminal, breaking the "Law of the Mask." It's so weird that wearing masks has become such a norm that I feel self-conscious without one because I worry I will get in trouble.
I spent the majority of Friday working on my Abnormal Psychology research paper that was due the next evening. It had been stressing me out, but I was able to get a lot done on it. On Saturday, I again worked on finishing up my essay and finished around one. I also had the opportunity to spend some time teaching my sister about Conflict Resolution skills (for one of my homework assignments). Then I asked Whitney if I could come over and teach her for about 20 minutes, so I got to do that. Then we went on campus to do homework together. At about 5pm, I left to go home so I could treat myself to dinner. I had been craving an In-and-Out burger all week (with Chick-fil-a fries), and when I arrived there, the line was so so so long! But I decided to stick it out to satisfy my craving. I waited in line for around 45 minutes. Was it worth it for one little burger? Who knows, but at least that craving is gone now. Then I drove to get the fries, and the line at Chick-fil-a was SO much shorter. By the time I got home, it was already 7:40pm. Whitney came over after 8pm so that we could watch "The Social Dilemma" and make the "BOO" banners that my mom sent to me. The movie was very dramatized, so it was hard to take some of it seriously, but it was fun making the banners. Very relaxing. Plus my new hot glue gun is pretty awesome. Also this week, my mom sent me a paper-slicer machine, without even telling me she was going to, which was such a lovely surprise. I have a great mama.
I woke up to snow on Sunday! First snow of the semester. I layered up to go to church and wore my boots. We were going to make it just on time to church, but as we were passing through the parking lot to go inside, there were three guys standing at the back of a car and saying, "If one person carries seven and the other two carry six, we can make it." I look back to see one of the guys piling a bunch of boxes of chili onto the other guy's open arms, going up to his chin. I realized what they meant, so I called out and asked if they needed help. I think they were surprised by my offer, but me and my roommate Mira headed towards them. We helped carry them and they were grateful. We got to church just before the opening song began, but I think the Lord blessed us with that opportunity to serve and didn't mind us being a few minutes late. It made my day so much happier. Also, for the first time, all my roommates attended the Zoom RS meeting (though some were late and/or had to leave early), but it felt very united, so I liked that.
Much love,
Emily Burnham
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