I find it ironic that since I posted my first blog entry on the wonderful relationship between math and music and how music is such an important part of my life, that relationship has started in a downward spiral. The STEM part of my life is starting to take over, and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that. With the combined load of leading two branches of Westmont Robotics, helping lead and creating agendas for a Middle School team that I played a large part in founding, helping Rodrigo start STEM Club, working on the SPHERES programming challenge, taking 7 classes at Westmont and taking an extra on-line math course, my workload is ridiculous. I am starting to have serious time management issues, which is a really important problem to deal with, because it is one that will be relevant throughout my whole entire lifespan.

My robotics work, however excessive, is something that I love doing and that is close to my heart. I have fully immersed myself in this club this year, and am already far too deep to back out, even if I wanted to. It is closely related to all of the majors I am currently looking in to, and is also something that I honestly enjoy doing. However, I do need to make sure to check myself and not put so much in that the other areas of my life suffer.

On the music side of things, I haven't had band practice since before my first blog post. Because I have had band practice every week or every other week pretty much for the past two years, this is in my opinion a huge problem. I need a way to use my creativity, to vent my emotion. I am honestly afraid that if I stop having enough time in my life for band practice and can't do that, other things might also fall. If I stop having band practice, I might start playing less and less guitar at home until I stop all together. I already play a lot less than I used to at the beginning of the school year simply because I don't have as much time. Music is still an integral part of my life though, and I intend to keep it that way. I need to turn down the science in my life in order to turn up the music.

I need to check myself before I volunteer for another huge STEM-related project.

I need to take the time out of my life to write a song every now and then.

I need to make sure that I don't overload myself with work, that I take the time to relax instead of doing that extra robotics work. If I don't do the extra robotics work, a meeting might not be as great as it could be. If I don't relax, I could overwork myself and fall apart.

I know this might sound like the slippery slope fallacy we learned about in class, but I really think that band practice is such an important part of my life because it is something that requires creativity and intellect, but is not math, not engineering, not science. It is a different way to relax and express myself, and have fun doing something that I love.

When I go on in life, I really hope I won't let go of music, because music is a really important part of who I am.