The dog and the bone.

When I was little, one of the first fables I was ever told was the tale of the dog and the bone. Basically, there was a dog with a bone. He was walking past a river and saw his reflection, but thought it was another dog with a bone. He got greedy and wanted to get that dog's bone too, but when he opened his mouth he dropped his own bone into the water.

I was going through my old blog posts when I realized that I described last semester as the most tiring semester ever. Ha, how wrong I was! Or, well, I was right at the time, but then this semester I'm kinda like the dog in the tale of the dog and the bone. :( I have a feeling that I bit off more than I can chew, but if I can increasingly handle a larger workload, that must mean that I'm... growing up?

• Last semester I took four classes and felt the strain. This semester, I'm taking FIVE classes. I wasn't trying to outdo myself, because I was initially just taking four classes including a thesis class. Then I landed a paid internship and had to enroll in a class called Journalism Internship. I thought there wouldn't be any work to do for it since you already have to do an internship to take the class, but it turns out there's an assignment due for that class every week as well as a midterm and final paper!
• I'm still a Project Associate at USC. But after two semesters of working for Professor Aimei Yang, the school gave me a new assignment: I'm a social media associate for the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center at USC, working under the direction of the Program Director, Jerry Swerling. 
• I'm still the co-president of TriSight. Running a student organization is time-consuming and hugely draining, because you're managing people - and people are the most challenging segment to manage! I also got a bit too ambitious and launched a whole bunch of new incentive programs this semester, which contributed to the burning-out-within-three-weeks.
• This semester, we start working on our Master's thesis. It stretches across this semester and the next, but the bulk of the work is done this semester and during winter break. Next semester is just about editing and making improvements for each revised version. Anyone who has done a thesis before will understand how stressful and taxing the process is.
• I'm working on the green card application packet with Darren. This process is similar to the strenuous process of applying for grad school in the U.S. -- a lot of forms to fill, a lot of information and materials to get, and I'll have to get a medical test done on me too. Next semester we'll be continuing this process because post-filing, there's a biometrics appointment and the green card interview, etc.
• I'm doing an internship at LMJPR. I love the work, honestly, the agency primarily specializes in healthcare PR and I find it so meaningful and interesting. Plus Laura Jackson is an amazing boss. 

But yes... I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I get really stressed out sometimes but most of the time I try my best to handle all my responsibilities calmly. Because it's all a part of challenging yourself and growing up, right? I am also not job-hunting until next year because I think I cannot handle any more commitments for the rest of this year. :/ I'll cross that bridge when it comes!