No matter what stage of life you are in, there is a constant struggle to find a balance. For a long time, I worked hard to find the balance. During the summers, I try to balance working with meeting up with friends and finding some time to relax and spending time with my family. At Notre Dame, I try to balance classwork with training and engaging in the whole “college experience”. Here in Dublin, I tried to balance travel plans throughout Europe with my focus of training with the Track team. I have learned a few lessons about balance while being abroad.
One lesson has been learning to go with the flow a bit more. Part of that has to being in the Irish culture. Plans are not always made, and even the ones that are are not strictly adhered to. And that is actually OK. Flexibility and adaptability are great characteristics to have, but they do take some time to develop. That is where my study abroad program comes in. After a few frustrating experiences, I have learned to be a lot more flexible in day-to-day activities. I would still prefer to have a plan and have things go according to my plan, but I have found ways to adjust when that is not the case
That leads me to my realization about finding balance in life. I need to stop trying to find the balance because it does not exist. There is a balance, but it can change over time. Over time can be a few years or a semester or even a few weeks. On top of that, I cannot get things to perfectly balance. I am going to spend more time on some activities than others, despite my best attempts to balance my time and responsibilities. This is where the two lesson merge together.
Early in the program, I focused more on running and getting in the best possible shape. It gave me an excuse to stay in or hang back as I made the tougher-than-expected transition to life in Dublin. Early on, my balance was dominated by my training. As the semester progressed, I fell in to a pattern and enjoy myself a bit more. I found ways to take advantage of the opportunities that I had while being abroad. The balance was shifting a little. Then I came to a crossroad.
I could have spent my Spring break in Portugal, training with the UCD Athletics Club (track team) and getting into ridiculous shape. Or, I could travel with my girlfriend and some good friends through Italy. I opted for the latter. Looking back, going to Portugal and training would have put me in a position to run the times I was hoping to here in Dublin. I would have succeeded in the goals I set out coming in to the study abroad program.
But I would have missed out on the trip of a lifetime. From that point on, I made sure to take advantage of traveling. My focus shifted slightly away from running. I climbed Croagh Patrick, had a romantic weekend in Paris with my girlfriend, and even made it to Munich for a day. I was seeing places I never imagined I would be able to. My training took a hit, and that was evident in my track meet last week. I ran a respectable time, but it not was I was hoping or thought I was capable of. I was very disappointed, but looking back on the previous month or so led me to my final lesson.
I had been told by many people to take advantage of the opportunities I had while I was here, but I was not sure how to treat that since I was so focused on running when I first arrived in Dublin. I felt like I had let myself down at the track meet with my time. As I looked back as to why I was not in the kind of shape I was hoping to, I realized that I actually had made the most of those few months. I had been to 4 countries I had never been to before, seeing breathtaking sights and historical monuments and everything in between. I will go back to training when I get back home to Cleveland and South Bend, but I do not know when I will have the opportunity to be in Europe and see the places I saw (especially as cheaply as we were able to pull it off). Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to take full advantage of the opportunities you are given. The sacrifices may be harder to make at certain times, but looking back on great experiences like traveling around Europe for the first time makes it much easier. You may even find that you actually had a great time and went on some trips of a lifetime.
That can only happen if you are a little flexible, learn adjust your balance, prioritize your goals, and realize the amazing opportunities that are staring you in the face. That’s it. Oh, if only it were that easy. Having family and friends there to remind you of that and be supportive goes a long way in getting to that point. When you do finally have that light bulb go off, you are going to have a fantastic experience. Just have patience and realize that it does not happen overnight.
Be flexible, don’t be afraid to adjust the balance you have, and learn to take advantage of opportunities that may not come along again. No pressure. Just a lot of fun. That’s the way I learned to look at it.
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