Wow! Can it already be 3 weeks that’ve been back? It would seem time has grown legs and run away without me… Again. You close your eyes for a few minutes, and you’ve lost a few days. But I guess that’s life, and all the more reason to make the most of ours.

The first three weeks back have been an absolute whirlwind… I was a bit nervous getting back in week one as everything about university life has changed and I had no clue as to what I was doing while trying to get used to the new system. I missed out on some work, caught up on it again, forgot to take a day off on the weekend… And so, week one rolled into week two.

Now, with week two, I had to have a complete change in my studying strategy. I’m very much old-fashioned in the sense that I prefer having a pen in my hand rather than my fingers pushing keys. However, my mom has always said to me “Isla, you need to work smart, not hard.” And with the increased workload that naturally comes along with second year, burning the midnight oil trying to write out all your lecture notes is not ideal when typing them out takes less than half the time. So, I stand before you as the BFF of my keyboard. AND I also managed to take the day off on Sunday despite struggling with the workload! YIPPIE!

Guys, I really can’t stress enough how important it is for you to take a day off at least once a week. Your mind needs a rest, your body needs a rest, you need to spend time with family and friends, you need some time to be human!

And finally, week three. The past week I actually felt like I’d gotten back into the swing of things. I’d been sure to plan my work, figure out studying times and tried balancing work with days off over the weekend. Not everything always goes to plan though, and naturally I ended up moving things around and will be playing catch up in the following week. But I’m managing, and that’s the best that I can do right now.

I’m still human. I have days where I feel extremely overwhelmed and I have days where I feel like I’ve got it together. There are days where I feel like I haven’t done enough, and there are days where I have felt so productive. This rollercoaster effect is NORMAL, it’s LIFE. You have to have the bad days to appreciate the good ones. Hang in there! It may not get easy, but you will get stronger!

I hope you guys have had a good few weeks back. It does take time to get back into the rhythm of university life and the new way of studying, so have grace with yourself, and take it one day at a day!

I’ll be seeing you!