Stressed is an understatement. Week 8 of 12 is approaching, and it's starting to dawn on me that the semester (and my time here) is almost halfway finished. How?! I feel like I stepped off the plane yesterday. So much has happened within the past two months, it's so hard to wrap my brain around it all. I've been here for two months!!! It's so surreal to me. And of course with the semester quickly winding down, assignments are piling up, and my stress levels are through the roof. I'm currently writing this article with a charcoal face mask on, and The Greatest Showman soundtrack blaring in the background. Self-care mode has commenced. I always find myself turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms as a way of dealing with stress and anxiety. And by unhealthy I mean locking myself in my room, binge-watching Supernatural on Netflix and stuffing my face with popcorn until I can't procrastinate my work any longer. It always seems like such a good idea at the time until I start having to pull all-nighters just to get my assignments finished on time, adding way more stress than necessary. I reckon this isn't the most efficient studying method. Thankfully, I'm trying to take a different and (hopefully) more beneficial approach to deal with the intensity of the end of this semester. Fingers crossed! I have four 10-page research papers and a photography portfolio project due at the end of October. I hate having everything due at the same time, I never know what to start with or even when I should start working on them. From now until then, I'm trying to work on one assignment at a time and get them done well before the due dates. It sounds like a good enough plan in my head so why not try, right? I've started working on one paper and my photography portfolio, so hopefully the motivation carries on until the very end. If I can keep this progress up, I'm definitely rewarding myself with a Supernatural marathon. Without a doubt. A month and a half sounds like a good amount of time to get all of this accomplished, but unfortunately the upcoming breaks are my prime traveling times. I have a few trips planned before the end of the semester that I'm so so so excited for, but I feel like these final assignments will be giving me nightmares until I get them done. Obviously my trip planning is not the most ideal or efficient, but I am determined to make it work with my schedule. It sucks when you realize that studying abroad isn't all fun and games. Finding an opportune balance between work and fun here seems nearly impossible - I want to explore the country as much as I can, but I also need to focus on my studies. I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the novelty of exploring a new country and just completely forget the whole reason you're abroad. The rest of the semester is going to be absolutely insane, so stay tuned to see how I make out with dealing with everything and for an update on my upcoming trip to New Zealand this week! This is my first real trip here, and I'm so excited. I've heard so many great things about the country and I can't wait to explore it firsthand! In the meantime, if you ever feel stressed like me, here are some pictures of cute Australian wildlife I've encountered so far :) xoxo, Samantha
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AuthorHi, I'm Sam. Welcome to my blog! Archives
September 2018
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