Three days later and my creative writing spark is still there. So, here we are. Let's jump right into the next topic, inspired by my friend (and this website's co-owner!) Elio.
It's quickly become February, which means there are many scholarship applications to start thinking about/doing. I can say confidently that I am doing a great job at procrastinating thus far. Some days I motivate myself to create a schedule of tasks to do regarding the scholarships. After that I ignore it for a week or two and then decide to create a new schedule. See the problem there? Thoughts about different scholarships and due dates are constantly at the back of my mind, but I'm struggling to do something about them. And there's a pretty obvious reason why.
This year includes perhaps the biggest transition of my life: high school to post secondary; kid to adult; reliant to independent. Some very daunting changes are presenting themselves in the next 8 months, and I don't know if I'm ready for that. Quite frankly, it scares me, which I think is the problem. Applying for scholarships makes me feel nervous, like life is passing me by much too quickly. Part of me doesn't want to acknowledge how fast life is going because I don't feel ready to face the future yet. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. So many people that I know are facing the exact same changes in 2021 and feel just as nervous as I am now. Even if it doesn't seem like it on the outside, the uncertainty of what comes next is always slightly weighing on us. On top of how daunting the next year is going to be, many of us are also waiting to hear back from our hopeful post-secondary institutions. Along with scholarship applications as, it's safe to say we have a lot on our mind at this time of year.
Ok, so this is an unsurprisingly stressful time. This September, when we start post secondary school, is like a jump-scare in a horror movie: we know it's coming, but it stills manages to scare everyone. So what's the best way to approach this massive jump-scare? Honestly, I'd love to know that answer myself. However, as the fateful month becomes nearer and nearer, I'm starting to understand it. For me, it is of utmost importance that I acknowledge my worries surrounding the future and face them head on. That way I can create strategies for dealing with those worries, and I'll then be able to think about September 2021 without feeling anxious. I know that the process of overcoming worries is very different for everybody, but I have listed a couple of useful strategies that could be helpful:
Imagine yourself as a post-secondary school graduate after five incredible years, thinking about how silly it was that you were so nervous to start this chapter of your life in your first place!
If you feel comfortable to do so, open up to people about your anxieties! It can help to work through these feelings with the support of someone that you trust.
Writing freely and honestly about those anxieties helps too! In fact, I just used this strategy as I made this post.
These methods help me cope with anxiety, and I hope that they can help anyone reading this too. And if they don't, that's ok! I just feel bad that you read this far and probably regret doing it now.
Looks like I basically turned into a self care blogger for the day. Nice.
That second section seems way too similar to something a counsellor might say, but I'm just going to go with it. I wonder if I'll make a review of my own writing at the end of every post...
Anyways, moving on. I have an idea to tell all of you (my many, faithful readers) about. I want to try incorporating different writers onto the website! If you are interested in writing a post of your own, feel free to contact me below and I'll let you know how that can be done! Since the points and ideas made by one person can get repetitive, it would be nice to hear from as many different perspectives as possible.
Thanks again to Elio for the great writing topic today! It's longer and very different from the first two, but this post was still fun to make. Next time will veer away from the seriousness a bit and be more of a story post.
Thanks for tuning in!
That's still just a podcast thing isn't it...
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