25 January 2011

"Remember Breathing? OK, Do That Now."

These words were said to me by a dear friend when I started hyperventilating today. No, I did not have a nervous breakdown — though if it is possible to have a happiness breakdown I think I might have done that. No, I was freaking out because the results of the auditions for our spring play, Antigone, were posted today and I got in. The only freshman. Just me. I am in the role of Chorus — and if you are familiar with Greek tragedies, you'll know that the Chorus does not sing and dance; they are rather the narrators and reactionaries to the play. It's actually a really big role, and I was completely flipping out with excitement and disbelief.

I was hugging people and texting people excitedly and chattering away a million miles a minute when my friend caught my arm and, a bemused smile on her face, said, "Olivia, remember breathing? OK, do that now. In, out. Repeat. Stop hyperventilating."

She was kidding, but thinking about it later and smiling to myself I realized why her words stuck with me. Remember my one word for 2011? That's right:  b r e a t h e .   My friend had no idea about my One Word, which makes this seem all the more like some sort of sign.

Remember breathing? OK, do that now.

I've been rushing around like mad these past few weeks. Between midterm exams (gah), auditions for the play (tremble), the start of a new semester (eep), and the unusually cold weather we've been having (shiver), I've been feeling pretty worn out. Lately I've just been wearing sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a nice warm hat all day when I don't need to go to school.

this is a serious crime of fashion, but I'm not particularly caring at the moment.

This week will be no exception. Tonight my mom and I have to attend a meeting for freshman interested in the IB program which lasts for two long hours. And then rehearsals for the play start on Thursday. Between that and schoolwork and managing my Etsy shop, I'm swamped.

So I was thinking about what I can do to make my life a little less hectic. I've started up yoga again, doing a 10-minute bedtime routine to unwind. (Did you know sleep actually makes you get in better shape? Never knew that. Thanks, free iTunes yoga video.) I'm reading this amazing book instead of surfing the internet, and trying to remember to turn off all my electronics before going to sleep (I read that it makes you sleep deeper and better). I'm continuing with my Spa Day Saturdays and that's a nice little release. (I got a volcanic mud facial mask... divine!)

And another thing I want to cut back on is screen time — yes, that means blogging. I know, IknowIknowIknow. How many times have I said, "I'm going to cut back on blogging"? Countless times. Really. But this time I truly do mean it. I have a ruler to slap myself on the palm with if I get too lax. (Kidding. Kind of.)

Anyway. I'm not going to disappear, I just might be a little more absent than usual. Will you guys still love me if I periodically abandon you for a few days at a time? I hope so. It's just too much stress for this little blogger to be constantly wondering "hmm, I wonder if my new post got any comments? Gah, I'll have to go check" and thinking "oooh this will make a great post on my blog" whenever I do something cool.

You know, it's weird. Some people decide to take blogging breaks or cut down because they can't find enough inspiration. I've got plenty of inspiration; I have a million and a half photos and experiences and thoughts just begging to be made into posts. My challenge is to squish them like little ants and actually do something productive.

I even installed the new look a couple days early so I could get that off my chest. Orange is supposed to be energizing, you know. I could use that.

This has turned into a very long post, and if you read all the way through, I salute you. If you haven't, just know this: I won't be blogging every day. I still love you guys. I just love the rest of my life as well, and it's been feeling a bit neglected lately.

PS- right after writing this post I looked at my dashboard and saw this post by carlotta. Whoops! carlotta, dear, I assure you I am not copying off your post — I dearly hate when people do that — I was just thinking the same things you were, I suppose.

16 comments:

  1. I will miss you! :)
    How lucky you are to have so many experiences to turn into blog posts. I have just the opposite problem going on. I guess that's what happens when you're homeschooled...

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  2. This just like explained my day. I did a ton of cool things today at school, and I thought to myself, "I'm going to be writing posts for the rest of my life!" Which, personally, gets annoying when you're just trying to have fun and not worry about your blog posts, comments, followers, etc.

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  3. Whoohooo! Congrats on getting the part! I read Antigone last year for English 10 - that is a really big role!

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  4. Loved this post...congratulations on getting the part! And I don't feel like you were copying me in anyway, but thanks for the link! :)
    Oh, and the new design is just lovely - mustard yellow and light grey is one of my favorite color combinations. Beautiful!

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  5. Your look is amazing :)
    Congrats on getting in to the play! That's amazing as well :)

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  6. Congratulations on the part! That must be really exciting. I love the new design too. :)

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  7. have fun doing the play and keep us posted on that. Yes it is good to live in the real life wrld rather then be blogged with blogging your time away. Good for you. Love the new look.

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  8. Congrats on the part in Antigone! Greek Chorus is always fun :)

    PS: I know the play's name is pronounced "an-ta-gon-ee", but the little voice in my head always reads it as "anti-gone". Frustration!!!

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  9. Love the look..... CONGRATS on getting the role! Your blog is one of my favorites, and even though you and I DO NOT share the same fashion loves and stuff, I do still love reading about your fashion posts!!! :) Also, I AM MAJORLY JEALOUS OF YOU-- I JUST FOUND OUT YOU'RE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!!!! Oh, I wanna become a published author SO.BAD. ttul
    Love,
    Manda
    p.s. you are really really pretty! love your curly hair!! hehe

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  10. Oooh I know the feeling: "this would make a great blog post!" and... "oooh I have to post this!". Well Olivia, you have inspired me to only spend as little time as possible on the computer, unless I'm writing a blog post. I don't know why, but surfing the web seems to make time tick faster for me.

    By the way, love the new design! :)

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  11. Congrats!! You sure are one lucky freshman to be the only one who got in. Don't you worry. I'm sure your readers will still love you despite your periodical absence. :)

    By the way, I like your new layout!

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  12. Congrats on being the only freshman to get in! I'm sure you're *super* excited!

    I totally understand you not being able to blog as much. Sometimes we all need to cut back on those sorts of things especially when we have SO much other things going on in our lives:) And of course, we all will still love you even though you're not on here as much :D

    Have a great day!

    ~Maya'lee

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  13. I will miss you, but I understand. I myself used to post everyday, and now I barely even have time for it. :) I post about once a week.

    ~bree

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  14. Well done on getting the Chorus--it sounds like a lot of work, but really fun.

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  15. Of course we won't hate you if you don't blog more often.

    Since you have plenty of pictures and inspiration have you thought about picking a two hour block one day a week and scheduling posts for the week? I do that sometimes, especially if it's a mostly picture only post. I've lined up a whole week before and not had to log on except to read other blogs I follow. It was nice. :)

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