Every semester started with exactly the same feeling: Panic.
Had I had my own copy of The Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy, perhaps I would have remembered not to panic. Sadly, I didn't. So I did.
'How am I going to get through all this?' I'd bemoan to myself. 'It's so much work. I should just give up now. I'll never make it. All is lost.' ...thankfully, Coldplay was big then so I could at least sing along in a falsetto (starting at 3:20) when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed.
Falsetto always makes me feel better.
Somehow, after a few months, I'd find myself in the swing of things again. College wasn't that hard. In fact, aside from the few boring classes and the homework, it was fantastic!
All that to say: That feeling of panic you get right when you're starting your year? That overwhelming sense of dread that creeps up your spine looking at the tome of your Instructor's Guide? That pounding in the chest? ...yep, that's all totally normal.
I didn't know that. I thought, since as a Sonlight kid life was mostly just great books and good times, somehow this feeling of doom at the start of a non-homeschool school year had something to do with my inability to make it "in the real world."
I was wrong.
It's normal, when contemplating a year's worth of material, to feel discouraged. If you felt like you could do it all today, then it probably wouldn't be worth much. So whenever the overwhelming feeling hits you, take a breath.
Don't panic.
And if all else fails: Sing something at the top of your lungs in falsetto.
If that doesn't help, perhaps you just need to talk it out with someone in the Sonlight community or with an Advisor.
How has the start of the year been for you thus far?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
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