Blah blah blah, I'm a whiner; blah blah.

I've been back in Berrien Springs for a grand total of 43 hours, and I'm already overwhelmed. A test, a quiz, 6 hours of work, planning a birthday dinner, planning a handful of ministry performances, answering emails, eating, studying, a farewell to a great aunt... All I really want to do is whine. And pout. And eat cookies. We've already got three tests, a practical exam, an exit test, a research paper, and a handful of quizzes assigned for next week. I need to order a bridesmaid dress yesterday. My credit card has a balance greater than my savings account. I keep receiving "friendly" urgent reminders to register for next semester, just another 5-figure fee for the cost of my summer.
There comes a point when I'm sick of fighting back against adversity, and I just want to give in, to become my own worst adversary. Yup, life sucks. Too bad. Your life is terrible. You can whine. Revel in self-pity. Eventually, inevitably, I pick myself up, brush myself off, and move on. The mountain of to-dos hasn't grown smaller, but the time to conquer it has.

The day-to-day grind is just digging a tunnel through a gravel pile. Shovelful after shovelful, and the hole just keeps caving in. Efforts seem futile. But eventually, after shovelful after shovelful after shovelful, the mountain has shrunk into a hill, into a knoll, into a handful of pebbles. Eventually, it disappears. And then, rather than creating a small tunnel for yourself to squeeze through, you've created a road.

No more whining. I'm off to trailblaze a freeway.