When I arrived at Principia three and a half years ago, I was not mentally prepared for college life. I could not fathom how busy and stressful my life would be in college.

In fact, if you had asked me in high school if I was ready to attend classes, meetings, and work all the way up until track practice, then after a workout rush for a quick shower before dinner closed, and then finally prepare to start homework between 7:30 and 8:00. And then homework would be interrupted by another meeting or maybe two, a talk by someone off-campus, and an attempt to socialize a bit. Finally, in order to get some sleep, the night might end by about 3:30 a.m. despite not finishing all the readings for class.

If you had asked me about all this, I would have laughed and thought you were crazy. Well, here is the skinny. I laugh now because it is crazy, yet that was the life I fell into here, and it isn't much different from any of your lives.

Oh, I thought I would be different and be the superman with no problems. I was wrong. Man, are we busy, living on hope that next quarter or even life after college will somehow be less busy!

I admit I gave in too many times to lament about the busyness in my life, and even sometimes took pride in the fact that I was surviving a ride through college that resembled a loaded tractor trailer without brakes barreling down a steep curvy mountain road. Graduation would be my runaway truck ramp.

I wanted more free time, but I continued to sign up to work on The Pilot, be a DJ, run track, and take a couple of extra one-credit-hour classes in addition to work and regular classes. If I asked myself why, it was because those were things I wanted to be part of my experience. However, in the back of my mind, I just wanted some free time.

When would the constant wishing stop? How would I get less busy? I knew I had to change my thought before looking at my list of activities. I had to reexamine through prayer what was important to me.

I had to demonstrate this when I did a mass communication internship at a radio station last summer.

I also had to make some money, so I found a job in addition to all the projects I was working on at home. With all that, I still had to train for track.

It was the first time in my life I did not have to think of something to do from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to bed. I was so busy that I utilized every minute of the day. Before going to bed in the early morning hours, I would write letters and read books, which I also took to work and read in my spare moments.

I was busier last summer than during any quarter at Prin. It was hard to discipline myself to study any of our Weekly Bible Lessons. Yet, it was that discipline of daily study and prayer that helped me overcome a sense of being too busy.

[Having plenty to do] is not something to dread. It is something to be thankful for. You see, I started expressing gratitude for what I was doing and learned that serving God in my activities freed my mind. Even though it is a 24-hour-a-day job, we never complain to God, "Man, I can't wait for a break from you. You keep me too busy."

I finally learned I was occupying my time for a higher purpose and realized I was grateful for everything I was doing. I didn't have to stop doing something. In fact, I was doing more than ever, because I was not wasting time wishing for more time.

A sense of peace can be discovered whether or not it is right to reduce our number of activities. I always have loved Mary Baker Eddy's line in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "God rests in action" (p. 519).

That being true, I've taken comfort in knowing I'm not stressed and overworked. I'm resting. I always have time to be grateful.

A non-busy life starts with a state of mind, not with a list with fewer activities. This understanding is important to me, because it is a reminder to be grateful for everything.

This helped me in sports training. Last fall I independently trained for track. I met a few teammates every day after classes to work out. It was easy to fall into the trap of convincing myself that I was too busy to practice, especially since it was not track season.

However, my new outlook on activities allowed me to complete my class work and demonstrate our freedom from stress in order to have a well-rounded college experience.

Any activity expressing God is important. Understanding that made it easier to go out and train despite the looming fear of not having time to finish an upcoming paper or because I wanted to do something else at night.

Gratitude was and still is a much more comfortable state of mind than being stressed with the thought that we are too busy with classes and wondering when we will have free time to start the paper.

I try to do things on God's time, since God is never too busy. I know that I am always in the right place at the right time. And that is so much more restful. What a relief!