Back in the Groove -- of blogging at least

It's been a bizarre week thus far. I've been ditching fun for work -- the height of which occurred when I gave up my Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs concert ticket for a night of working on my 25-page research paper -- yet I've been ditching class for work, too. But, today, now that the rough draft of my paper is completed and turned in, I skipped virtually all responsibilities for nothing. I literally have done nothing today. I slept in with Jamie, left his apartment to grab a bagel, returned to watch Shaun of the Dead, and skipped both my classes for the day. Took MARTA home only to collapse in an armchair and watch more mindless television. The only productive thing I've got planned for the day is an Atlanta Press Club event (read: networking opportunity) at the Commerce Club this evening. And, a shower. At this rate, even a shower's productive.

I'm writing about this because a) I've been meaning to begin writing in this blog on a regular basis again, and such an uneventful day is rare and a great excuse to begin writing, and b) this week has made me think a lot about priorities and what's really important in my life and what should be important in my life. It seems that life should be dictated by what makes us happiest, but I don't know anyone who truly functions life that. So much of life is determined by responsibility.

I suppose none of this is ground-breaking or even interesting. I'm just aware of how much life has changed since I came home from London -- less than a year ago. When I was at Middlesex, so much of my life was dictated by what made me happy, and I was the healthiest (effortlessly thinnest) and most stress-free that I can ever remember being. I still had my share of responsibilities and obligations (I can still remember the closeness I felt to the children I volunteered with), but only to myself. I felt no need to impress professors or acquaintances. I didn't have a boyfriend, or a job (or two jobs, for that matter), or little things to worry about, like parking my car in a safe location or paying bills. Granted, my life overseas wasn't realistic in the least. It was a long, extended vacation.

I'm feeling rather burnt out lately. Surprise, I know. The burden of stress has become so cumbersome that, instead of making myself sick over it, I've taken the escapist route and shirked all responsibilities.

Anyway, it's just a quick phase, I'm sure. It's not the first time I've reacted to stress and responsibility this way. In addition to getting back into the swing of things, I sincerely hope I'll be able to someday figure out how to avoid being over-stressed all together. That'd be a miracle, indeed.