Anxiety #doctoralpursuit

The bible says: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) I start with that because its a recurring theme in my life and something I need a constant reminder about. I am in week two of class two and the work load and reading is "real". I mentioned in my last blog that I took a week off for my sororities national convention and as a result missed the first week of class. I did have a co-worker get notes for me and she shared the handouts for class (thank you Debbie) I began looking over them to see where to begin. That's when the anxiety hit me. I looked at what I had missed and what needed to be done and immediately felt overwhelmed. I briefly thought to myself: "maybe I am not ready for this". I am not sure how I will get it all done. I am still working on balance because this is something I have chosen to do and I must do it well enough to see it through to the finish.I gotta keep my grades up. I just know that it has to be done. So, I have settled myself, whispered a calming prayer and began reading. I have found that I must write my thoughts down as I am reading. I have also found that I have to turn off the TV and any other things that make noise (I am very easily distracted) My reading capacity is almost child like as I try to read these educational journals and books. At one point, I found myself reading aloud and then I was better able to focus. I am still reading slowly through the assignment and find myself stopping frequently and "zoning out" I have got to get my reading stamina up which means, I cannot wait until the day an assignment is due to begin reading it. I also cannot afford to waist any time on things not work related while I am at work. I believe that will help with balance. (keeping work at work and school studies at home and on weekends) I do believe there will be times when work and school will overlap and can be completed simultaneously; those days will be a blessing indeed.  I am still feeling anxious and a bit overwhelmed but I think I will feel better once I sit in my first class this week.