I learned a lot of quality lessons from Zack Morris and company during my prime years.
Those episodes were life changers.
Every once in a while (or maybe more like most of the time), I feel like there simply isn’t enough time to get everything accomplished that I need to get accomplished. There should probably be more hours in the day. I usually end up sacrificing sleep, which really isn’t a good idea.
Life can be chaotic, and there are a lot of things I want to do and a lot of things I need to do—and those things don’t always coincide. I even went in to the office for a couple of hours on the Fourth of July because of the workload I had at the time. I would have much rather been napping on my couch (see previous paragraph about not sleeping enough), but sadly, that didn’t happen.
Jessie Spano knows our pain, people.
In the famous Saved by the Bell episode in which she starts taking caffeine pills in order to stay awake, she has an absolutely epic meltdown when Zack tells her there’s no time for her to wash her hair before her big performance. “No time—there’s never any time! I don’t have time to study! I’ll never get into Stanford! I’ll let everyone down! I’m so confused!”
I feel ya, homegirl.
Jessie put a lot of pressure on herself to be successful, and I’m sure many of us can relate. I’m studying for a test right now and don’t always feel like I have enough time to study—or at least not as much as I should. It can be difficult to prioritize the things you want to do and the things you should do.
But then there are the things you need to do.
I believe in working hard, and I believe in focusing on those things that will help you be successful. However, I don’t think those things should always take precedent—especially when people are involved. You make time for the things you want to make time for in life, and I think it’s important to make time for the people who matter to you. My friend Jayna is one of the best examples of this. She is by far one of the busiest people I know, but she always makes time for the people in her life. Sometimes we’re only able to chat on the phone to catch up, but she still makes sure to set aside time for those chats—because she cares.
Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed and lacking enough time, I think about my mom. When we were growing up, she worked at a preschool during the day and then usually had to have a part-time job in the evenings. Yet, somehow she still managed to find time to coach some of our teams and be at almost all of our events. She was super busy, but she still showed up. Then, while still working at the preschool, she went back to school to get both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. And she never once threw a Jessie Spano hissy fit about there not being enough time. She made time for the things she wanted to make time for in life, and I’ve always admired her for that.
When my sister and I took a road trip to Tennessee almost two years ago, it was something I really needed to do. It took a huge chunk of time out of both of our lives, but it was absolutely worth every second in that car. Maybe Jessie just needed a road trip with her best friend—it would have been a lot better than those caffeine pills she took.
A lot has happened lately to remind us how precious our time we have is. I’d rather live with no regrets of not doing the things I knew I really needed to do. I’d like to make sure I get to experience the moments that really matter in the grand scheme of life.
Those moments that make people like Jessie Spano so excited—you know, before she got so scared.
