Exam stress vs. balance 🫣🤗

Hello - glad you're here. 💛🧡

Here is a new edition of my crazy life. I describe it as crazy because I got to pluck my first gray hair at work yesterday. It's clear that this will happen at some point, but at 23? Let's be honest… 😂 (proof picture in the gallery)

But let's focus on the beautiful things in life. A brief recap in May: I was at my brother's house again at the beginning of May. It was finally time to get the summer tires on my car. 😅 It's always nice to spend time with them. Especially playing hide and seek with my little niece is always such great fun. 😃 If she doesn't understand where her aunt is, she quickly says 'Huh?' or 'Where, where, where - where's my aunt?'. 🤣

Back in Ansbach, I started baking again. Milk rolls and chocolate rolls with fresh yeast dough. The buns only came out well the second time because the dough didn't really rise the first time. But yes - learning by doing - or what was that? 😉 Oh yes, the salad exploded! The pictures in the gallery show it! I did get to enjoy some of it. I can only recommend growing your own lettuce. 🥰

Around mid/late May, I went back to my aunt's house. First, I had to get rid of all that salad and second, I hadn't been there for a good six months due to my internship in Munich. Plus, I don't know how much longer I have with my grandpa. 🥲 Whenever I say goodbye, I always tell my grandpa: 'Grandpa, should I come back soon?' Then he says: 'Yes'. And then I always say: 'Grandpa, I will do that, and if we don't see each other here again, we will meet in heaven!' How wonderful that we have this hope as believers and that we don't see death as the end, but rather as a transition into eternity. 😇

One week later, I went to the youth camp I had mentioned in the last blog entry. We went to Pfullingen in Baden-Württemberg or, in other words, to the Swabian Alb. The mission congregations from Ansbach and Stuttgart had joined forces. There were devotions in the morning and evening on the topic of Abraham, some group games, soccer, and a hike to Lichtenstein Castle - everything you could wish for on a leisure trip. 😊

The camp ran from May 29 to June 1. Afterwards, a friend and I drove around Baden-Württemberg a bit and explored the area. On Sunday, we first went to the Schönberg Tower in Pfullingen, reputed to have a beautiful view. However, we had to walk up there for another twenty minutes to half an hour. It was quite steep. One of the leisure team had hiked up there one morning and recommended it. So, we hiked up there and when we got to the top, we realized that entry wasn't free. Now, hold on to your hats. It cost 1€ per person. Naturally, we hadn't brought any money. Why would we? The person from the leisure group got up there for free too. But yes, at 5:30 AM, the ticket office wasn’t open either. Unfortunately, because of 2€, we couldn't enjoy the view. At least we burned some calories. 😜 That was a bit frustrating. So my tip: always take a bit of money with you - no matter where you go - if you aren't already doing it. 😉

Afterwards, we drove back to Lichtenstein Castle to view it at our leisure. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time when we walked there with the group. The castle's construction was inspired by the novel 'Lichtenstein'. 🏰

The next night, we spent in Unlingen. In a Swabian village in an inn. The next morning, we drove a bit further to the 'Wimsen Cave', also known as Friedrich's Cave. The boat ride was very quick, only 10-15 minutes, but it was definitely worth it. The passages got narrower and narrower and at times you had to watch your head. We managed to go a whole 70 meters into the cave. After that, the passages were too tight to go further. 😬 From that point, you can only dive deeper. Researchers sometimes spend a night down there. Some divers stay down there for seven hours to explore the 320 meters of underwater passages.

Since we still had much time, we spontaneously decided to go further down to Sigmaringen. I knew there was a castle there worth seeing. 🏯 Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate as much as we would have liked, but we made the most of it. We also took a look inside the castle.

From Sigmaringen, we headed back up towards Ulm. We had accommodation booked there too. The next morning, we drove to the Blautopf in Blaubeuren. A really beautiful small village with a monastery where a small blue pot is located. Depending on the light, the lake shines in its full colors. Just beautiful! 😍

Next, we went to Laichingen to the Tiefenhöhle cave. You can descend 55 meters. However, the cave is 90 meters deep and 1384 meters long. What surprised me the most is that we were sent in alone. I'm used to having a guided tour. But no, it wasn't that way. Long metal stairs leading down, which were sometimes really slippery. Something could have happened there. 🙃 But we were able to see some beautiful stalactites. Since we were there during the week, we were lucky that it wasn't too crowded.

After the cave tour, we drove back to Ulm and checked out the city center and, of course, the Ulm Cathedral. 😉 In the meantime, the weather was quite good until a thunderstorm rolled in. We began our journey home in the afternoon.

This was a nice balance to the upcoming exam phase, which I'm currently back in. 🫣 Seven exams are waiting for me. The exam dates are already set. I start on July 9 and my last exam will be on July 24. It's that time again when you feel guilty if you're doing something that isn't 'learning'. I can’t really enjoy nice activities at the moment because I always think - are you going to watch the movie or meet with this and that person, when you really ought to be using the time to study... tough times 😶

Some life phases can be challenging. Honestly, it’s quite stressful for me at the moment because everything seems to be piling up. Organizational matters still need to be resolved alongside my studies. And there's nothing worse for me than being distracted from studying by these things. Regarding work, I love what I do, but in exam periods, it becomes an additional burden to have less time for assignments, for example. Thankfully, the exam phase isn't very long. 🥹 The feeling after you’ve completed all your exams is indescribable. I can feel how my head becomes lighter and the stress dissipates. Perhaps that’s why I had the gray hair yesterday? 😅

Well, mentally, I’m already preparing for the next big event: my Bachelor's thesis in winter. But only if I make it through all the exams now. Especially media law. I’ll gladly keep you posted on how that’s going. I’ve already purchased the textbook so that I make some progress. Well, label me as a drama queen; maybe I’m putting a bit too much pressure on myself. 🙈

What I want to convey is that it’s completely normal to have times in life when you feel overwhelmed. It just seems like no one talks about it. The question is, how do I deal with it? Once again, this verse comes to mind: 'Cast all your anxieties on him, for he (God) cares for you.' (1 Peter 5:7) or as my dad always says: '80% of the worries we concern ourselves with don’t happen anyway!' And yes, he’s really right when I look back. 😄 With this in mind, I'm confident that I will succeed in my endeavors.

To wrap up the blog entry, I'll quickly talk about yesterday's trip, some house news, and give you a little heads-up.

Yesterday, I went to the wildlife park in Hundshaupten, behind Nuremberg, with a few young people from the community. A truly beautiful wildlife park, though quite hilly. 🤣 Compared to the wildlife park in Bad Mergentheim (BW), I must say I prefer the one in Baden-Württemberg a little bit more. The park is flatter and more beautiful for walking, and we saw a few more animals that were easier to observe than in yesterday’s wildlife park.

Now, let's move on to the popular house news. One of us has moved out again. Just to remind you: we were 4 boys and 3 girls. Now we are down to 3 boys and 3 girls. Let’s see who else moves in here. ☺️ The larger room next to mine has become available, and now one of the guys from the second floor is considering moving down to the bigger room. I totally get it; I’d probably do the same. It can get quite hot upstairs in summer. 🔥 At the end of July, the two trainee teachers will move out, and then there will be two more rooms free. It doesn't end here. 🙂 I can also say that we now have chickens in the yard. The landlord has built them a really beautiful outdoor enclosure.

A little heads-up. You already know that the exams are approaching. My sister will visit me after the exams, and I’m thinking about going away for a few days with the friend I’ve already traveled with. But that’s just a thought for now. I’ll have to see how everything fits together since my big vacation is rapidly approaching. It starts in 77 days. ✈️ As we know, anticipation is the greatest joy. 🥹 The car needs its MOT again.

I will get back to you after my exams. From now on, I need every spare minute to prepare. There are four written exams and three assignments still to be completed. So there's still quite a bit of work ahead. 🥴 I’ll be in touch again by the end of July/beginning of August. Until then, take care and don’t stress too much if things get hectic. I’m still learning every day. 🙋🏼‍♀️

_________________________________

Hello - glad you're here. 💛🧡

Here is a new edition of my crazy life. I say crazy because I got to pluck my first gray hair at work yesterday. It's clear that this will happen at some point, but at 23? Let's be honest... 😂 (proof picture in the gallery)

But let's move on to the finer things in life. A quick recap of May: I was back at my brother's house at the beginning of May. It was time to put the summer tires on my car. 😅 It's always nice to spend time with them. Especially playing hide and seek with my little niece is always great fun. 😃 If she doesn't understand where her aunt is, she's quick to say 'Huh?' or 'Where, where, where - where's my aunt?'. 🤣

Back in Ansbach, I started baking again. Milk rolls and chocolate rolls with fresh yeast dough. Well, the buns only turned out well the second time because the dough didn't really rise the first time. But yes - learning by doing - or what was that? 😉 Oh yes, the salad exploded! The pictures in the gallery show it! I've also had the pleasure of eating some of it. I can only recommend growing your own lettuce. 🥰

Towards the middle/end of May, I went back to my aunt's house. Firstly, I had to get rid of all the lettuce and secondly, I hadn't been there for a good six months due to my internship in Munich. Plus, I don't know how much longer I have with my grandpa. 🥲 Whenever I say goodbye, I always say to my grandpa: 'Grandpa, should I come back soon?' Then he says: 'Yes'. Then I always say: 'Grandpa, I'll do that and if we don't see each other here again, we'll see each other in heaven!' How wonderful that we can have this hope as believers and that we don't see death as the end, but rather as an advance into eternity. 😇

One week later, I went on to the youth camp that I had already mentioned in the last blog entry. We went to Pfullingen in Baden-Württemberg or, to put it another way, to the Swabian Alb. The mission congregations from Ansbach and Stuttgart have joined forces. From devotions in the morning and evening on the topic of Abraham, some group games, soccer and a hike to Lichtenstein Castle, there was everything you could wish for on a leisure trip. 😊

The leisure time lasted from May 29 to June 1. Afterwards, a friend and I drove around Baden-Württemberg a bit and looked at the area. On Sunday, we first went to the Schönberg Tower in Pfullingen, where you're supposed to have a really nice view. But then we had to walk up there for another twenty minutes to half an hour. It was quite steep. One of the leisure team had hiked up there one morning and had recommended it. So we hiked up there and when we got to the top we realized that you couldn't get up there for free. Now hold on tight. It cost 1€ (1,14$) per person. Of course, we hadn't taken any money with us. Why would we? The one from the leisure center came up there too. But yes, at 5:30 in the morning the ticket office wasn't manned either. Unfortunately, 2€ (2,28$) meant we couldn't enjoy the view. At least we burned a few calories. 😜 That was a bit annoying. So my tip: always have some money with you - no matter where you go - if you're not already doing it anyway. 😉 

We then drove back to Lichtenstein Castle to see it at our leisure. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time when we walked there with the group. The construction of the castle was inspired by the novel 'Lichtenstein'. 🏰

We spent the next night in Unlingen. In a Swabian village in an inn. The next morning, we drove a little further to the 'Wimsen Cave', also known as Friedrich's Cave. The boat trip went very quickly, only 10-15 minutes, but it was definitely worth it. The passages got narrower and narrower and sometimes you had to watch your head. We were able to drive a whole 70 meters into the cave. We couldn't go any further because the passages were too narrow. 😬 From this point, you can only dive further. Researchers sometimes spend the night down there. Some divers spend seven hours down there to explore the 320 meters of underwater passages. 

Because we still had plenty of time, we spontaneously decided to drive further down to Sigmaringen. I knew there was a castle there that was worth a visit. 🏯 Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as good as we would have liked, but we made the best of it. We also took a look inside the castle.

From Sigmaringen, we then headed back up towards Ulm. We had booked accommodation there too. The next morning we drove to the Blautopf in Blaubeuren. A really beautiful little village with a monastery where a small blue pot is located. Depending on the incidence of light, the lake shines in its full colors. Simply beautiful! 😍

We continued to Laichingen to the Tiefenhöhle cave. You can descend 55 meters. But the cave is 90 meters deep and 1384 meters long. What surprised me most was that we were sent in alone. I'm used to being given a guided tour. But no, it wasn't like that. Long metal stairs down, which were sometimes really slippery. There could have been issues. 🙃 But we were able to see some beautiful stalactites. As we were there during the week, we were lucky that it wasn't very crowded. 

After the cave tour, we drove back to Ulm and had a look at the city center and Ulm Cathedral, of course. 😉 Between times, the weather was quite good until a thunderstorm set in. We made our way home towards the afternoon.

It was a nice counterbalance to the upcoming exam phase, which I'm currently in again. 🫣 There are seven exams waiting for me. The exam dates are already out. I start on July 9 and my last exam will be on July 24. It’s that time of year again when you feel guilty if you do anything that isn’t 'learning'. I can’t really enjoy nice things at the moment because I’m always thinking - are you going to watch the movie now or are you going to meet up with this and that, because you should and could actually use the time to study... difficult 😶 

Just like some phases of life can be difficult. I’m being honest; it’s really stressful for me at the moment because it feels like everything is crashing down. Organizational issues that still need to be sorted out alongside my studies. And there’s nothing worse for me than being distracted from studying by these things. Or also concerning work. I love my work, but in exam times, it’s just more of an additional burden to have less time for my assignments, for example. Luckily, the exam period isn’t so long. 🥹 The feeling you get after you've taken all your exams is indescribable. I always notice how my head feels lighter and the stress falls away. Maybe that's why I got gray hair yesterday? 😅 

Well, mentally I’m already preparing for the next big event: my Bachelor’s thesis in winter. However, that’s only if I can make it through all the exams now. Especially media law. I’ll keep you updated on how that’s going. I bought the textbook expressly for this, so it’ll have to work out. Well, call me a drama queen; maybe I’m stressing myself a bit too much. 🙈 

What I wanted to say is that it’s entirely normal to go through times in life when you feel overwhelmed. It just seems like no one talks about this. The thing is, how do I handle it? Once again, this verse pops into my mind: 'Cast all your cares on him, for he (God) cares for you.' (1 Peter 5:7) or as my dad always says: '80% of the worries we worry about don’t actually happen!' And yes, he is really right when I look back. 😄 In this spirit, I trust that I will succeed in my endeavors. 

To conclude the blog entry, I'll briefly cover yesterday's outing, house updates, and there's a small heads-up for you. 

Yesterday, I went with a few young folks from the community to the wildlife park in Hundshaupten, behind Nuremberg. It's a really nice wildlife park. Though it is quite hilly. 🤣 Compared to the wildlife park in Bad Mergentheim (BW), I must say I kind of prefer the one in Baden-Württemberg a bit more. I think the park is flatter and easier to walk in, plus there were a few more animals that could be observed better than in yesterday's wildlife park.  

Now to the popular house news. One of us has already moved out again. To remind you: we were 4 boys and 3 girls. Now we currently have 3 boys and 3 girls. Let’s see who else moves in here. ☺️ The large room next to mine has become vacant and now one of the guys from the second floor is contemplating moving down into the bigger room. I fully understand; I would do the same. It’s quite hot upstairs in summer. 🔥 At the end of July, the two trainee teachers will move out and then two more rooms will be available. It doesn't seem to stop. 🙂 I can also mention that we now have chickens on the farm. The landlord has built a really nice outdoor enclosure for them. 

A little heads-up. You already know about the upcoming exams. Then my sister will visit me after the exams, and I’m also considering going on a short trip with the friend I have already spent time traveling with. But that’s only a thought for now. I’ll have to see how it all aligns since my big vacation is also approaching quickly. It starts in 77 days. ✈️ As is well known, anticipation is the greatest joy. 🥹 The car also needs its TÜV again. 

I'll reach out to you again after my exams. From now on, I need every free moment to prepare for them. Four exams are written, and I still need to write three assignments. Quite a bit of work waiting for me, indeed. 🥴 You’ll hear from me again at the end of July/beginning of August. Until then, take care and don’t stress too much if things become overwhelming. I’m still learning new things every day. 🙋🏼‍♀️