Student Blog: Goodbye to Burnout

I have said it before and I will say it again, my semester was intense! Between school and regular life, I worked on 3 (!!!) separate shows in varying roles.  The life of a theatre kid is one that does not stop or rest.  And most of the time, I really enjoy it! The experiences I get to have with my wonderful fellow thespians is so important and special to me.  But, like everything else in life, sometimes moderation is key.  There came a time this semester when I felt something nagging in the back of my mind, an exhaustion that did not stop.  Burnout had really hit me, and I struggled to even get out of bed in the morning, ill prepared for the 10, 11, 12 hour day ahead of me.  Too much work and not enough play makes Grace a tired girl.

As the school year winds to an end, and the haze of final assignments lifts, I find myself having more and more free time, and my calendar opening up.  I spent the semester running from place to place like a mad woman, squeezing as many things into the day as possible, and crashing into bed at night, dead to the world.  I feel like I have a chronic need to be busy, and I feel such guilt when I have any spare time.  I felt burnt out, and some days now I still feel burnt out.  The end of the school year was a necessary reprieve that I would not have given myself. But now, how do I fill my time? How do I spend my days when all I have to do is one simple shift at my job in the evening, and sometimes not even that?  I keep searching for ways to be productive, and coming up slightly empty. 

With summer beginning, I finally have time to cook or run or sleep; whatever my body needs.  I wish that I had allowed myself to have this freedom during the school year, as it probably would have helped calm me down.  Now, rather than heading to the theatre for the evening, I am heading to the restaurant, and serving all the pizza and pasta that you could dream of.  I know that some of my friends have luckily secured jobs in the arts this summer, or are volunteering their time away working on unpaid projects, but despite my best efforts, that is not my path for, at least for the beginning of summer.  I am excited to look at theatre again as my passion and my joy, rather than my work.  When taking on so many projects, I think it is important to take a step back and remember that this is supposed to be something I am enjoying, rather than feeling stressed at the amount of work piled up.  Even after a month off of shows, I am feeling that pull in my chest back to the stage, and I think this break was a necessary one.  So to you, Burnout, thank you for showing me that I needed a rest, and hopefully, I don’t see you again any time soon!