Nicholas Wasley

Ever since I was a kid, I have played sports. It wasn't just playing sports for one or two months, but all year round for 12 years straight. This consists of playing soccer and running track in the summer and fall and training for them during winter and spring. I never intended to play sports, but my dad always pushed it onto me and I started to get into it. With this in mind, my sports life started to intercept with school and my social life in middle school.

I started to feel congested and stuck when my three different lives were crossing paths. It felt like trying to understand three different people talking to me at the same time. It was a mess for a while, and I never had any time to just relax. This was when I went on a search for some kind of balance between all my lives. I first looked to the internet, but all I found were athletes saying how you should focus on what you desire most and never give up. This advice is what you hear every day, and it never really helps you determine what you need to do. I decided to just go with the flow, and the time came on its own.

On the first day of school in my social studies class, my teacher showed us quotes from people in history and one quote stuck out to me. Sadhguru said, “There is no such thing as work-life balance-It is all life. The balance has to be within you”. This quote is now what I live by, and I try to find my own balance. I make my schedule according to what I am able to do, and even give myself time to relax a little bit. Everything started to fit together like a puzzle when I set certain times for work, and times when I can play sports and hang out with friends.

With a schedule of my own, I am a lot more productive and determined to finish what I put my mind to. This started to help me tackle new endeavors and cross multiple paths at the same time. Recently, I have accomplished learning songs on the piano, riding a bike up enormous hills, and even conquering my fear of talking in front of others. I will only continue to grow more, and I am now able to play sports knowing that there is no rush.