Editor's Note: Semester Stage Fright

I’m afraid of letting the people I care about down. I’ve got butterflies in my belly and the ache to prove it.

The start of any semester can be rather tumultuous. Only a few days in, we realize the arduous nature of the workload we have taken on. Expectations quake as incentives wane and some students find themselves having to choose between the responsibilities they signed up for.

We, the busy students that we are, flow into and out of obligations, whether intentional or not. Our studies come first. And so, over the past few weeks Reporter has seen some sudden stirrup in staffing. Various roles have flown from one able pair of hands to another. It happens.

In all the changeup, this incredible staff has never once let the quality of the content suffer or be lost in translation. Work has been picked up and championed through to completion with unwavering attention to detail and sense of commitment.

So here it is. I am afraid of letting the people I care about down. I am afraid of disappointing those who are relying on me to comply by my commitments. I am not afraid, however, of admitting that and managing it.

This fear is not meant to stunt us. Rather, these professional hesitations and doubts can guide us into new realizations around just what aspect of our workload we really value. These realizations can be around what we feel we are good at, or what we seem more keen in learning about. These eye-opening times can push us to make the tough calls we did not think we had to make. They can be instructional. It all depends on how we handle the time management tumult.

The butterflies shouldn’t scare us off the stage, they should carry our voice in melody well past this stage and into the next.