september: embarking on a cleanse of sorts.

a tiny snippet of the geeky school lists i've been scribbling out lately

I'll admit this is a somewhat awkwardly-timed post, & I'll also admit that I had other plans for my post today, but those plans just haven't panned out on my end.

I'm going to admit something to you, & it's something I'm not happy about. I let school overwhelm me so much yesterday evening, that I spent the night-time-part of my birthday close to tears, in a heap of frustration, & just generally in a state of unhappiness. And I wasn't pleasant to be around. I know I wasn't.

Twenty-seven was such a great birthday. There was a pouring out of love & gifts coming at me from all directions, & I was beyond grateful for it all. The fact that I let school dampen my spirits & manifest itself in a negative way, in my thoughts, actions, mood, treatment of others, etc. kind of sickens me. I went to bed last night, after brainstorming schedules & plans of action, vowing to get in control of everything, figure out my priorities, & devise a plan of success for this crazy semester. 

And that's what I did today. 

I'm coming to you from a place of such increased clarity & ease of mind that I'm actually really excited about what I'm about to tell all of you. 

I am taking the month of September off of blogging. 

First of all, let me clarify: I am taking the month of September - other than Sundays - off of blogging. The Sunday Currently has been going on for almost an entire year now, & I have no intentions of stopping - ever, really. As long as things continue going on in my life [which I hope is always, obviously], I will continue wrapping it all up in my weekly post. And I will enthusiastically invite all of you to continue linking up with me. I know I don't always comment, but I do always read. And I will continue to tweet all the TSC linkers each week.

Now that we've got that clarified, I have a few things to say about my blogging cleanse. In the two years I've been blogging in this space know as siddathornton, my purpose has changed multiple times, my layout has changed multiple times, my attitude toward blogging has fluctuated immensely, & - I believe - the content of my blog has fluctuated immensely. Blogging is a fluid thing - all of the components I mentioned above are constantly changing. And sometimes I find that to be an exhilarating thing. And sometimes I find it to be an overwhelming - in a bad way - thing. 

So, for September, I am going to practice the art of observation. I'm going to observe what I love about the blogging world. I'm going to observe what I don't like about the blogging world. I'm going to observe my feelings toward certain subjects & toward certain styles. And at the end of September, I'm going to come away with the knowledge of where this blog is headed in the future. Whether it's a blog that runs solely on The Sunday Currently postings... whether it's a blog heavy on makeup reviews... whether it's a blog that's updated every single day... whether it's a blog that is updated only when I have put together a post that has been picked apart & obsessed over... I can safely & almost completely confidently say that this blog will go on for the foreseeable future.

Blogging is something I see myself always taking part in. But for the month of September, I will be observing. 

And throwing myself into school. And finding a school routine that is conducive to success. 

And once that routine is found, I will feel confident in integrating blogging back into that routine. 

Well, this post is already miles long, so I'll go ahead & tell you this, too: I am also giving up reading for pleasure. But I'm not just giving that up for September, I'm giving that up from this point forward, until all of my classes are complete this semester. I have too much to read for school - it needs to be given my undivided attention. So, rather than diving into the Game of Thrones series this fall, as I previously intended, I will be diving into my Statistics book... or Anatomy & Physiology book... or Ethics book... or whatever else school book each night before bed. This isn't a decision I'm necessarily thrilled about, but it's a decision that I know will be more conducive the to type of grades I'm hoping to achieve this semester. 

So, there's that. 

Rest assured: when October rolls around, I'll have a plan for this blog up my sleeve. When mid-December rolls around, I'll be posting my Winter Reading List. And when Sundays roll around, there will always, always be a The Sunday Currently post going up at noon eastern.

Of those things, you can be sure.

Until then, I will be finishing out Blaugust strong, with a post each day. I don't know what those posts will be, but there will be posts.

Tell me: what do you do to keep your priorities in order? Have you ever taken a blogging break? Please share any anecdotes or advice. Here's to taking control of our lives, knowing our priorities, & doing whatever is necessary to get those priorities in order.