There are a few things constant in this world, and one of them are changes. Some of them we can control and some we unfortunately can’t. They shake up and shape our everyday, make it better or worse.

As I spend far too much time thinking and worrying about the ones I can’t control, I’m here going to focus on the ones that an average person has control over. They are the ones that will, in the long run, help you to overcome and face those you can’t control as well.

There’s been some changes in my life recently and I’m making sure that I do my best in carrying them out the way I want, even if I fail sometimes, or, for the matter of fact, if I fail a lot of times. I’ve been known for being stubborn and persistent, and although these fails can get me to almost drop everything on the floor, weep, or just move to the UK and leave everything behind, I am aware that for some things, I should just keep trying. And this is where the changes come in: Did I fail an exam? I should start studying at the library. Do I not have enough hours in a day to do the things I want or have to do? I should start waking up at 5:30 and doing the washing, cleaning and baking then. I failed an exam again? I should change my study strategy to try and find one that suits me better. I haven’t seen the light of day because I’m at the library all the time and I don’t even know what I’m reading about? I should take one day/afternoon off and change my surroundings, and the people I’m with. Not to be un-appreciative of anything or anyone, but to not be in the same position all day every day. My brain needs different kinds of stimulation and my body needs to rest and I can work better the next time I sit down for it, because I changed my mental and physical space for a day.

It’s funny because even though we might know that a change is good for us, we don’t actively pursue it. I know that I should be going to bed at 10 pm, waking up between 5:30 and 6 am, because I’m most productive then, but that doesn’t stop me from staying in the library until 9:30 pm, not knowing what I’m even doing there because I’m so tired, leaving a lot of things I have to do at home undone because it’s so late by that point, taking a shower, stuffing my face with some food because I haven’t eaten properly since lunch, and then going to bed at around midnight and hitting the snooze button approximately 6-8 times before getting out of bed and being late again. I know I have to change that, and I know it would be the best thing for me, but for some reason I sometimes don’t have enough willpower to stand up and say: “I’m going home now, because I desperately need to sleep”, but that is a change I’m going to start making now, and I hereby encourage you to start making your own ones as well; let’s start doing the best for ourselves.

/ Text: Mia Janezic