A Big Push

So, today, I can still feel the dullness in my brain, which is to be blamed on my body still thinking it is vacation time. It is difficult to concentrate on the already piled mass of reading assignments that my professors expect to be read by tomorrow. In fact, I already have one professor who uses the phrase "...should have done by yesterday" when referring to certain research for his class.

So, now the quarter has just begun, and I feel totally behind on my research, my readings, and will likely soon feel behind on any writing to be do... was that to be done yesterday?

There is this enormous push to have this all done, yet the constant nagging in the back of my head (sometimes, it might be screaming in the back of my head), that utters, "If you do commit to all this, you'll be consumed by it... you will essentially become it and nothing more. Once you inundate yourself in your research and your studies, you'll have no time for a normal life once it fully grabs a hold of you and no time for your relationships, which are already lagging..." In a nutshell, this voice is like a hooded figure: I cannot tell just by looking if it is to be trusted as a companion or shunned as a devious enemy. Part of me sees the wisdom in embracing all this, allowing myself to truly become the doctor and professor that await me at the end of all this, yet I am constantly asking, "At what cost?" I want to be a whole person, that is certain. Yet, I am not certain if all this hard work can be compartmentalized so that I do not let the research and jargon eke from my pores whenever I converse or try to socialize.

So, that is what I offer for conversation: In the midst of pursuing something so engrossing, how might one still be a multifaceted individual that still participates in the community, family, and so on?
I have seen the necessity of a day planner (yes, I would loose my mind if I did not have one) and also I have seen how there must also be flexibility. There is something to be said about the one who has a strong central family unit, for I believe that to be vital for one to be whole and emotionally healthy when pursuing high standards of achievement.