Today's writing prompt is: What's one thing you're proud of?
You won't believe it but the thing I'm most proud to date, is finishing the last semester of undergrad uni. That last semester was craaazyyy!!!
I had 4 courses, the thesis, three part-time jobs, a part-time internship and two funerals on the other side of the world. Oh, and let's not forget my 1.5 hour journey to get to uni and then back. So in total of three hours spent in the public transport. My daily routine would be: leave in the morning for my part-time, courses, part-time, internship, come back home at night, have a quick shower and dinner, and then write my thesis until 2-3 am, get some sleep and the whole cycle would start again. In the week-end I would have another part-time but at least I could catch up some hours of sleep. And it lasted three months.
I had my emotional breakdown on the last day of my finals, when not only I has no sleep the night before, but I still had to write a bloody conclusion, abstract, acknowledgements, index and sort out the layout! I printed my last thesis copy at 9pm that night in the uni library, bound it and left at the front office for the thesis readers. When I went out of the uni doors, I was mentally and physically exhausted. But not the emotional side, as it was waiting for me to just come rushing out. When I tripped and all the things in my arms fell, I just started crying. As I was gathering it up, I just continued crying. As I walked towards the car where my dad was waiting (good thing I called him to pick me up), I continued crying. As I was in the car, I continued crying. It just wouldn't stop.
And then, when I woke up the next morning, I forgot what my life was like before the thesis. I just couldn't remember what I usually did on a Saturday with no responsibilities and deadlines. It felt so weird, as if I just came back from a trip.
If you're wondering how I managed to get through all that chaos, it is because:
You won't believe it but the thing I'm most proud to date, is finishing the last semester of undergrad uni. That last semester was craaazyyy!!!
I had 4 courses, the thesis, three part-time jobs, a part-time internship and two funerals on the other side of the world. Oh, and let's not forget my 1.5 hour journey to get to uni and then back. So in total of three hours spent in the public transport. My daily routine would be: leave in the morning for my part-time, courses, part-time, internship, come back home at night, have a quick shower and dinner, and then write my thesis until 2-3 am, get some sleep and the whole cycle would start again. In the week-end I would have another part-time but at least I could catch up some hours of sleep. And it lasted three months.
I had my emotional breakdown on the last day of my finals, when not only I has no sleep the night before, but I still had to write a bloody conclusion, abstract, acknowledgements, index and sort out the layout! I printed my last thesis copy at 9pm that night in the uni library, bound it and left at the front office for the thesis readers. When I went out of the uni doors, I was mentally and physically exhausted. But not the emotional side, as it was waiting for me to just come rushing out. When I tripped and all the things in my arms fell, I just started crying. As I was gathering it up, I just continued crying. As I walked towards the car where my dad was waiting (good thing I called him to pick me up), I continued crying. As I was in the car, I continued crying. It just wouldn't stop.
And then, when I woke up the next morning, I forgot what my life was like before the thesis. I just couldn't remember what I usually did on a Saturday with no responsibilities and deadlines. It felt so weird, as if I just came back from a trip.
If you're wondering how I managed to get through all that chaos, it is because:
- I organized my time in such a way that I was productive as much as possible. For example, if I had an idea during work, on how and what to write for a chapter of the thesis, I would grab the nearest paper and pen, and write it down. I didn't wait until I was at my laptop to write because there was a risk that I would forget it.
- During those long bus rides to or back from uni, I would force myself to read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. It helped me to keep my head above the water and post-pone the emotional breakdown.
- Knowing that all my classmates and friends were going through the same thing, made it bearable. That means that we supported and motivated each other, even if it meant just sharing an afternoon snack talking about the most silliest things. It gave you a boost of energy and happiness to start a dreary job.
In the end, it made me feel that I was strong enough to go through anything life throws at me and had this really bright outlook on the future. Of course life always has surprises and it tested me very soon. But that story is for another day (maybe).
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