Scheduling: A pain in the... Palm

Years ago, missing a couple of days of school -- even a week -- was as easy as writing a few paragraphs about where I went and what I did.  Throw in a few postcards and you had extra credit that put you ahead of where you would have been if you hadn't missed class.  But no more.  In fact, in this, my senior year, I struggled with the decision to miss a single Monday to attend my grandfather's funeral.

As I entered my fourth and final year of high school, I quickly realized that my puny "binder reminder" was not going to be a sufficient planner for my busy schedule.  This convinced me to pick up my dad's old Palm Pilot (he has graduated to a BlackBerry).  Now it is jam-packed with information, from my tests and homework to work assignments.  It has freed me from pen and paper, from forgetting my homework, from arriving early for a late start (a monthly opportunity to sleep in and eat a proper breakfast while teachers do pupil-free tasks).  Unfortunately, it also seems to have changed the way I look at my life.

-- Nick Giulioni

The small piece of circuits and silicon reminds me of my responsibilities.  I curse at it, glare angrily, and even hit it once in a while.  But I am misdirecting my anger.  I do not hate the device, but what it contains -- not the individual items but the cumulative burden.  The college visits, work, school, homework, family obligations and volunteer opportunities all carefully scheduled, one after another from early morning until well after dark.  And I'm not even the busiest high school student I know!

So I decided to make the possibly college-altering decision to leave the shackles (Palm) home and fly six hours to attend my grandfather's funeral.  In the process, I have fallen so far behind it makes my head spin. I now must make up notes for Statistics, Spanish and English, find out what the homework is and take a test by the next time I am in class. Would my education and life have been enriched by spending an extra day with out-of-state relatives?  Or helping my grandmother adjust to her new life alone?  Or sneaking out to see the sites of D.C.?  Honestly, it doesn't matter; my Palm just beeped to remind me to complete a chem assignment.

Comments

[JB]

I'm glad you made the decision to attend your grandfather's funeral. While I'm sure it's stressful to make up the missed work, you can never make up the missed opportunity to bring comfort to a grieving family member. Unfortunately, these tough decisions and trade offs will not go away once your enter college...in fact, they'll just keep coming fast and furious as you transiton to the workplace, raise a family and take on community responsibilities. I applaud you for grappling with the challenge of setting priorities - something many adults still haven't figured out - at such a young age. Good luck...and keep these well-written insights coming.