January included a huge transition back to school after living at home and completing fieldwork during the fall semester. I hadn’t sat in a classroom, wrote a paper, or even talked to a lot of my classmates since May so saying I was nervous to go back to school would be a major understatement.
I was terrified.
I did not want to go.
But my mom reminded me how far I had come and how close I was to the finish line.
Luckily, the move back to school went smoothly (besides a few forgotten things) and my roommates and I quickly caught up and fell back into a rhythm.
Switching my brain from practitioner to student was a little more difficult though. I made sure to fill out my planner and write down assignments but I still find it hard to sit through hours of classes because I’m used to being go-go-go at fieldwork. I am also still having a hard time with balancing schoolwork with the rest of my life and find myself cranking out hours of work and then having days with no assignments due.
I was hoping I would get back into a nice routine of class, homework, and the gym, but the weather (hello polar vortex) and multiple compressed schedules & snow days has made that a little bit difficult.
I had chosen the quote “you are exactly where you need to be” for January and it was exactly what I needed to hear during all these crazy transitions and life changes.
And while January did not go 100% as planned, February is a new month. And with this new month brings a lot more assignments, a weekend board prep course, and just more of the general life stress that comes with being in your last semester of grad school.
So in February, I am going to remind myself “don’t overthink it.”
Don’t overthink it when you are doing assignments and someone else is doing there’s a slightly different way.
Don’t overthink it during board prep when you get another question wrong-you will still be an OT.
Don’t overthink it when your mom doesn’t answer her phone-she was a life too and will call you back.
Don’t overthink it when your roommate seems a little grouchy, you can be quite a grouch too.
In February, don’t overthink it.
Becky B OT 