Scheduling through Life

   If you knew me well, you come to know that I schedule like you wouldn't believe. I am a compulsive list maker, ranging from tracking what I eat throughout the day, to things I need to get done within the day, to things I want to get done over break, to credit hours, to imaginary wedding details, to things I need in my dorm room and when I can wisely get them. It all seemed normal until one day I caught myself listing ever pair of socks I owned so they will never get lost in the wash or stolen by my sister. Socks.....I'm listing socks. Red flag.
  Scheduling is healthy. Scheduling for someone like me with so much chaos in their mind is somewhat of a lifeline, but what happens when I've scheduled myself into a machine? What happens when I've listed myself into a corner, and can't escape it for fear of disturbing my handwritten order? While scheduling is healthy- there must be a balance.
  A very dear friend once enlightened me when I was in high school of how valuable every second of every day is. With a life expectancy put on her at a very young age, she took every day as a celebration- as a privilege. For every choice we make to spend our days, we trade a day of our lives for that choice, and if we aren't doing something valuable for ourselves... then we trade our days for a schedule that may not be important at all in a few years. Do something valuable to you, not your schedule, every day. Make these trade-ins count.
  For me, it's taking time to see the sun set. It reminds me that I have enough control over my days to catch my favorite part of living where I do. Every sunset reminds me that while I don't have control over how many days I have- I control what happens within them. If I'm lucky enough, I follow this with listening to fabulous music or do yoga and if I'm REALLY lucky enough, I'll paint. All of these remind me to actually live outside my schedule, and honestly, I think that one of the most beautiful things about that youthful mentality is the brilliant spontaneousity we foster.
  So schedule, but make sure to always be spontaneous. Because in the end- I remember how much fun I had with my friends spontaneously, not what was on my schedule.