It’s about losing control. And letting go. And figuring what the difference between those two things.

Losing Control

Nobody likes the idea of losing control. I myself am a total control freak, and if you ask anyone around me they’ll probably agree with that assessment. It’s just my nature. I like knowing what’s going on, staying on top of things, being in total control of as much as I can of the things that influence me. But there’s plenty of times when I can’t be as in control as I’d like.

The past four years have forced me to learn to accept some of those things I can’t control. In fact, they’ve taught me to do my best to enjoy losing control a little. To not let the stress get to me, to recognize that–no matter how business and crazy my life might get–it’ll all get done, and I’ll do it well (if it’s the last thing I do!).

Letting Go

Letting go is a little different. It’s disconnecting, pushing away the things that bug me, shoving aside the stressors and annoyances of the everyday. It’s saying I’ve had ENOUGH and just letting the small things slide, focusing on the big picture.

Letting go is probably equally hard for me as losing control is, if not harder. I do tend to sweat the small stuff. I do sometimes get caught up in details. I do sometimes freak out of things that, quite honestly, I shouldn’t be freaking out about.

Sometimes this is a good thing–an attention for detail is important in a lot of cases, and I have that. Sometimes it’s not such a good thing, like when a project honestly isn’t that big a deal and I end up wasting way too much time on something, sacrificing quality on something that might be much more important. But in those situations, I’ve learned to prioritize, and (thankfully), that’s a rare problem anymore.

Losing control and letting go are a lot alike. I know I struggle every day to do a little of both, to focus on the important things in life and work and school and not let the small things get to me, allowing myself to occasionally lose control, and letting go of those things that I shouldn’t let intrude into my life. It’s not easy, but it’s a constant process of improvement.

What about you? How would you explain the difference between the two? Is it as hard for you as it is for me? Any tips?

It’s that time of year again, when my life goes from being just abnormally busy and ridiculous to absolutely-mind-esplodingly busy and ridiculous. Yup, school starts back in just under one week.

I’ll admit, I’m already feeling the pressure a little–which is odd, given that I haven’t stepped foot back in a classroom yet. It’s mostly mental, and it’s not necessarily bad, but that extra responsibility for my six (6!) classes is going to be a kick in the butt for the next few months. Thankfully my work schedule will calm down soon (cutting my hours almost in half), and with a little luck the weather will get nicer, leaving me a little less exhausted at the end of the day than I have been in this heat.

In fact, I’m kind of excited for my classes this fall (and yes, I know I say this every semester, and by the end I’m about ready to bang my head against the wall). I’m done with general education requirements, and really, based on course descriptions and syllabi alone, I’m not expecting this to be that difficult of a semester. And well hey, I slogged through six semesters and a summer course already, surely I can manage two more, right?

The biggest thing hanging over my head is the amount of ongoing projects I still have on my plate. I’m designing not one, but two websites (both of which will likely extend throughout the semester) and I have a fair amount of blogging responsibilities. Bad thing? Not really–in fact, blogging and designing are kind of nice, relaxing escapes from the textbooks and assignments I’ll be facing over the coming months. But they’re still more to do, which means I’m going to have to put a little more hustle in my step to get it all done.

Probably my biggest ongoing project–and I’m really regretting not getting this all done and out of the way in June–is my spring capstone project. While the content is finished, the website is not. And I’m contemplating turning it into an e-book, at the prodding of @amandamogul and @riethja.

But it’ll all get done. A little positive thinking and perhaps a teensy bit less sleep, and I know I’ll make it through just fine. Will it be a little stressful? Sure. But then again, I seem to kind of thrive on this stuff. And if all else fails, I know I’ve got an amazing community of friends–online and off–to turn to for a little extra moral support.

In other words, bear with me. I’m going to need lots of motivation over the next month and a half or so!

In addition, I’m on the look out for social media professionals who might be interested in helping me out with a quick interview via phone, e-mail or in person. This semester I’m completing my first honors capstone, for communications, focusing on social media and its impact on politics, social movements and the traditional news media. Are you a thought leader in this industry? Are you a thought leader in any of those industries? Let me know! I’d love to talk to you and gain some more insight as I work to complete the project.

The “deliverable” for this product will actually be in the form of a Web site. Because I’m titling the project “The Social Media Revolution,” the site will be hosted at SocMediaRev.com–not the easiest to say, but it’s the best I could snag; after all, “social media”-related domains are quite the hot commodity nowadays. Feel free to check out the site as you like, but keep in mind that right now, it’s simply a shell, and over the coming weeks it will be very much a work in progress. Please don’t judge! And of course, rest assured I’ll be blabbing all over the place once it’s finally finished.

Anyway, as always, thanks so much to my friends–and those of you I don’t know–reading my content here on this blog. And thanks so much to all my Twitter friends as well, who keep me motivated to stay active there, even if I can’t quite commit the time to posting blog entries as often as I’d like! More to come soon.

And here’s my calendar for next week (already!):

Should be interesting to see how much sleep I get between school, two exams, that massive purple mess of events out and about in D.C., and writing. I promise I won’t abandon you, blog.