The holidays came and went faster than I can blink an eye. I wish it was still December. The only ‘stress’ I felt was trying to figure out what presents to get my loved ones and if we had enough wine for the big family dinner on Christmas Eve. I’m a Post-Graduate student at Seneca College in Toronto taking a Social Media/Digital Media Marketing Program which runs from September 2015 – April 2015. I went to University for four years and I’m not exaggerating when I say this but boy, is this program challenging, overwhelming and stressful. I thought University was bad.
The work load in first semester felt like it was never going to come to an end. But it did on December 6th, 2014. I was on holidays for 5 weeks and it was so well-deserved. I remember during the final week I was feeling numb from head to toe, the fatigue felt like something I never felt before and not to mention the dizziness. This just goes to show you how much of an effect stress has on the immune system – especially on Multiple Sclerosis.
I went back to school yesterday to start second semester, and had school today too – my program runs on Friday’s (8:55 a.m to 9:40 p.m) and Saturday’s (8:55 am to 4:15 p.m). No typo! I have school on Friday’s and Saturday’s so yes, I have no life and won’t get it back until April.
Yesterday was extremely hard for me. Staying at school for over 12 hours with just two, 50 minute breaks? Talk about mental exhaustion. But that wasn’t the worst part. We got our course outlines including all assignments/quizzes/exams/things to make you want to pull your hair out. Let’s just say it’s a little inhumane. I thought last semester was bad – I’m in for a new awakening.
And now it begins. The worries. The stress. The anxieties. The many nights with insomnia. I’m a very nervous person and a downfall I have is that I always worry about the future. It’s kind of funny because I tell all MSers to NOT worry about the future. I should really take my own advice. But anywho, I noticed my left foot was numb for most of the day today and I got that same achy pain in the same eye I got Optic Neuritis in. Not to mention the fatigue I started to feel.
Now even though I am complaining – actually no, I am NOT complaining. I’m just describing the things us MSers go through every single day! But you know what? I still love the program I’m in. I’m so passionate about Digital Marketing and I’m really eager to learn all the things I need to know in order to be successful in my career. But the pressure and MS do not mix well. I know I have to just relax, manage my time and make sure I have time to rest, and hope for a smooth ride – wait a second, who am I kidding?
So that was my day. That’s how my MS was for me. I really need to learn how to handle stressors better than I am doing now. Any tips? I hope your MS was better than mine today. How was your MS?
3 comments
Michael
Posted on March 7, 2015 at 7:03 pmThat is definitely some workload that you have with your schedule. I appreciate the dedication you have to doing something you have set your mind to with what difficulties you have to face though. Handling stress can be a difficult thing to do, but not worrying about the future is a big step into handling it, don’t think about the future any more than knowing what you have to do next. What is the next step, and don’t look past that.
Kayla Chatkiewicz
Posted on March 7, 2015 at 7:12 pmThank you for your comment, Michael. You are completely right. Since I wrote this blog post I’ve learned to just take it day by day and worry about the things I have today instead of focusing on things I will have months from now. I agree with you 100% so thank you for pushing me to better handle my stresses. 🙂
Michael
Posted on March 7, 2015 at 7:51 pmI appreciate your taking the time to reply and the distinction you pointed out between complaining about something versus describing something in your paragraph before your closing. While I cannot relate to having MS I did enjoy reading your post and I am sure you have some other interesting perspective to hear about.
Again, thank you for being willing to take the time.