Making a Statement

After a week spent in the wilderness, it's about time that I skip up the stairs to my bedroom, kick off my slippers (whilst trying to not hit one of my cats like a flying missile) and return to what I love doing most: blogging. Yes, my delightful readers, I've been absent from the bloggersphere - if the Oxford English Dictionary will even allow me to make such a word - for an entire week which, knowing the amount of posts I publish each week, is quite horrifying. Seriously, there used to be a time when I couldn't have imagined staying away from this blog for much longer than a day, let alone a whole week: whatever has since changed my mind?

Well, life has a tendency to creep up on you like a bad smell which, once you are aware of it, sends you into an uncontrollable coughing fit that is beyond your control. As much as I like to take responsibility for my actions, some things unfortunately don't fall into this category: they simply happen. This past week, for example, just went the way that it was destined to - busier than a girl used to spending her Sunday afternoons playing The Sims 2 could deal with, but somehow settles into a routine that I accept and unashamedly follow.

The routine? If you actually bother to look at the date on the corner of your Windows desktop, you will see that it is now at the end of February; - a.k.a. term-time. For another month, I'll be working harder than an excessively paid reality TV star with revision (for my year group has been blessed with mock exams after gorging on Lindt bunnies during the Easter holidays), homework and extra-curricular activities, more of which I'm getting involved with this term.

Two days ago, I accidently got myself roped into working for a Performing Arts student council, having only turned up to practise for a play that my group will be performing next Thursday evening. Even though I'm now happy to be representing the student voice (and getting to wear a decent badge that will spice up my blazer), the pile of work - and requirement of effort - is steadily increasing. Although the work isn't necessarily physical - or doesn't involve the use of Excel, which I've grown to hate with a passion in ICT - I'm having to push myself further in order to keep myself afloat in everything else. And you know what? It is tough. Waking up at literally the crack of dawn and not getting home until nearly five once a week mentally and physically exhausts me, especially when I've had the honour of sitting through lessons that I don't particularly like (though thankfully those are very few).

In recent weeks, I've had to consider my priorities because, at the end of the day, something's gotta give! With exams getting nearer and nearer, sorting myself out will ensure that my stress levels don't reach highly toxic levels which, if I'm still borderline with a C in Maths this time next year, will already be reasonably plentiful. I might have many great ambitions and dreams that I would love to bring about, but I can't claim to be Superwoman: nobody, regardless of their gender, is really able to live up to their favourite superhero. Part of me hopes that I might discover that I'm an X-Men mutant and possess a brilliant power that I could use for my advantage, yet reality is unlikely to suit my needs. Instead, I'm going to have to alter several things in order to address the most important things in my life.

So, as you are scratching your head (and leave scratches that only your sharp-clawed cat could leave behind), what am I saying? In short, I've decided that I'm going to limit the amount of time spent blogging because, if I always allowed myself to write here whenever I felt like it during the week, I'd never go to bed before midnight. Decisions like these are never easy, and I hate having to make them, but I wasn't kidding by declaring that something has to give - it truly has to. Unless I related it to romantic poems and sociological studies, blogging isn't going to earn me As in my GCSEs next year, which I'm so determined to succeed in. A year-and-a-quarter might be away from that all-important exam period, yet I've realised that burying my head in the sand won't stop that time from coming. The sooner I accept it, the sooner I'll be able to do something about it - in the form of revision, of course.

OK, I definitely sound like a geek, but do I care? No. A week with hardly any homework is still as exhausting as one packed with pre-test revision and exam-style questions, so it is unsurprising that I'm half asleep when I stumble through the door after getting home. And, to be honest, what with so little spare time of late, I haven't been able to think of much to write about. Long ago, it occurred to me that less is more - well, at least for when I put my foundation on. Anyway, that fact isn't just limited to make-up: you can apply to your life.

Like a turkey at Christmas, you appreciate what you have while it is here. Doesn't life become boring if you stick to the same things all the time? I think that blogging every now and again is much more fun when I do it less often because I've had more time to consider what I want to talk about. There isn't much that is worse than logging on with such high aspirations because they are crushed once you realise that you have absolutely nothing to write about. If I'm going to give up some time to write, I'm definitely not going to waste it by staring at my laptop's screen for half an hour, unable to type a single word.

At the end of the day, I'm still me, but I'm focusing on other things - which involve tons of writing (English coursework included) - which need more of my attention. And, obviously, I really enjoy my downtime: mini Victoria Sponge muffins anyone? It's just that not all of it has to be devoted to writing, which I'm going to appreciate more in the future.

Well, let's enjoy the weekend while it is here, and resist all the bags of Maryland cookies crying to be devoured by my chocolate-abstaining self. Hopefully, Easter will get here before I succumb to my chocolate cravings!