Your life will get stressful at times and that is okay

Taking on so many different challenges, remember what is most important

Your+life+will+get+stressful+at+times+and+that+is+okay

Written By Alex Popichak, Editor Emeritus

When looking for guidance on starting something new, there are a whole mess of inspirational quotes out there to get you started. For example, two of my favorites are Henry Ford’s “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it,” as well as Adlai Stevenson’s “All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.”

While gathering the motivation and drive to start something new is incredibly important, assessing progress and its impact on you is arguably more so
important.

My name is Alex Popichak, and I take on too many roles at once.

Recognizing that in and of itself is a massive step. Acting to stave off anxiety and being overwhelmed is daunting, if not seemingly impossible. The important thing, as several of my friends have reminded me these past few weeks, is that every individual is required to look out for themselves, because in the end no one else is required to.

I don’t say this to invalidate support systems to back you up or having folks in your corner. What I mean by that is that only you can assess whether the amount of stress you are under is worth coping through and managing before doing something to fix that.

It takes a lot for me to let go of something, as I have a serious relationship with commitment and staying true to my word.

However, I’m only human and I’m a full-time student and radio station General Manager above all else. At the end of the day, the folks I must answer to are the friends stubborn enough to put up with my nonsense and the person staring at me in the mirror every
morning.

I’ve noticed in the past few weeks that the person staring back is exhausted, stressed, sleep-deprived and nowhere near the enthusiastic person I know is inside. I decided to figure out why, and the answer was scrawled across my calendar, email and wrecked sleep schedule.

I attributed my stress to an increased workload, but I also attributed some of that to the stress that came with being the Parliamentarian at the United Student Government (USG). Do not misconstrue this: I loved working with clubs and with the Rules Committee. I have never been more confident in such a group of senators before.

However, I didn’t have the time or brainpower required of me to fulfill this job. I resigned last week because I wanted a little bit of my life back. I deemed continuing as parliamentarian to not be worth the stress for me personally, and I’ve been making some personal changes to try and make my life a little healthier.

Despite what you may have heard, USG is not a failing organization. If anything, it is reforming itself and finding its voice. On the whole, USG has been far more effective over the past six weeks than it has been in the previous three years of my time at Point Park.

I want the student body to know that genuinely and truly there are senators working on your behalf each week to do good.
Seriously.

I’m writing this essay as a reminder to myself that sometimes it’s okay to admit that it’s too much. At the end of the day, organizations remain steadfast whereas management and personnel will change.

I encourage anyone dissatisfied with where they are in life to take a hard look at what’s causing your own strife, and work to rectify it. In my case, that was making the incredibly difficult decision to resign from an organization I love.  I’m writing this to tell anyone who needs a reminder that you matter, and that it’s okay to let go if you need to.