Jessica O'Reilly

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Emotions I’ve been feeling lately…

I have had mixed emotions lately. The most overpowering of these emotions is stressed. My school work hasn’t been too bad lately, however it is still difficult to balance it with other factors of my life. The main thing stressing me out is that I am taking a certification course that has ended up being a lot more work than I thought it would be. Just today alone I have spent over 5 hours completing just one of twelve modules in this course. I hope I can complete all of the work while also completing my actual school work. There are also social factors of my life that have been stressing me out. This is mostly due to conflict between my roommates. I tried to manage some of my stress by taking a day off and going downtown with my best friend(which is where I took this picture), however, this kind of added to my stress. I felt that I should have used that time to complete some of the work I have, however, we had fun so I do not regret going. I believe it is definitely good to give yourself a break sometimes, especially when stressed. I have been working hard to complete a lot of work this weekend so that this next week will hopefully be less stressful. 

[joreilly2-blog]

Emotions I’ve been feeling lately…

I feel very overwhelmed by the amount of school work I have to do this weekend. It is really hard to find time to do it all, especially because I really want to complete the assignments to the best of my ability. I am trying to split it up, and manage my time better, but I can’t help but feel disorganized. The number of tabs I have open and seeing my to-do list reach past a page is adding to these feelings of being overwhelmed and disorganized. I wish I would have realized how much I had to do this weekend, so I could have started some of it sooner. In the past, I have had even more work to complete and I got it all done in time so I feel confident I will complete everything I have this weekend on time. In order to ease these overwhelming feelings, I have made a schedule for myself for the next few days that I believe is doable. In the future, I hope I learn to start my work earlier to avoid these feelings, however, I know it is common for other students to have this same problem, which makes me feel better about it. Whenever I feel negative emotions towards my work, I just think of why I am doing it, and how it will help me accomplish my goals, which instead makes me feel excited and optimistic. 

[joreilly2-blog]

Emotions I’ve been feeling lately…

I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed this past week. I had more responsibilities than ever that needed to be taken care of immediately, which really stressed me out. After Thursday, things finally started to slow down as I completed almost everything I needed to get done. As shown in this picture, Friday morning my best friend and I went out for breakfast and then spent the day together. My best friend and I have known each other since sixth grade and now we live together. Although we see each other all the time, it is rare we hang out just the two of us without our other friends. Before college, we would have that time together a lot more often. It was nice to spend that time with her because we know each other better than anyone and can openly talk about anything that is bothering us. Also, we always find ourselves laughing and having fun whenever we are together. This really improved my mood, gave me a good break from my responsibilities and the stress I had felt the days before. Now I feel more refreshed and ready for the upcoming week. I know that I will have more responsibilities and work to do, but at least I have my friends to help me through. 

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Emotions I’ve been feeling lately…

This bunny I photographed doing yoga stretches reminded me that I need to stretch and breathe and connect to the earth and the moment. When I feel a little out of control or overwhelmed, like life is spinning and I have no time to rest or think or be, I recall these images, this moment, the bunny stretching, taking time out to care for itself, and find one small thing I can do to make myself feel less harried. Remaining in a persistent state of stress and turmoil leaves me feeling fried, burned out, exhausted, depleted. I have difficulty doing what I need to do and worse yet finding the energy to do pleasurable things when I let stress and my to-do list overwhelm me. 

Being in nature calms and soothes me. At the beach, I focus on the sound the water makes as it splashes and churns. I close my eyes and feel the sun warm on my skin. I open my eyes and watch the birds float, dip behind foamy waves or pace and skitter along the shoreline using their beaks to pierce the flat smooth sand in their search for sand gnats and coquina clams. 

I feel at peace when I am at the beach. 

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Emotions I’ve been feeling lately...

This picture was taken at Indian Rocks Beach where my friends and I went on a picnic together this weekend. Before this day, I had already felt stressed out and overwhelmed even though the semester had just begun. I was already confused in some of my classes in addition to having to get a bunch of paperwork and other things organized so I can start a new job I recently got offered. I needed a day to relax and gather myself and my emotions before diving into all my responsibilities, which is exactly what I got from our beach trip. From the joy I felt cracking jokes and listening to comedy podcasts in the car with my friends to the calm I felt as I looked out at the ocean, I felt the best I had all week. Being with my best friends always makes me feel my best, and even though we all live together and do almost everything together, it was nice to go somewhere new and make special memories together. Being in nature is also usually very calming for me, and since I grew up in cold New York, I felt very fortunate to be able to feel sunshine in January. Overall, my day at the beach made me feel happy and put me in a good mindset to tackle all of my upcoming responsibilities.