By Emerson Thompson, Staff Writer
Now that themes are revealed, Tiger Tunes at Ouachita is fully underway. You are now a week into practices, and you are starting to feel the stress creep in. Whether you’re a first semester freshman or a senior, the stress of Tiger Tunes is inevitable.
In such a fast-paced environment with so much going on, it can feel difficult to really get everything done. The Men of ETA Tunes Director, Levi Shaffer, has found a different type of stress during this busy season. “I’d say the biggest challenge managing my time during tunes isn’t necessarily balancing all my tunes work with my schoolwork but instead making time to devote to each of the important relationships in my life. I’ve found that there is plenty of time to complete my homework after my classes for the day (which took intentional planning of my class schedule last semester), but soon after I get that done for the day, it’s nearing the time for Tunes practice to start. It’s taken a lot of intentionality to ensure I’m spending time with the important people in my life.”
You may not be a director, but I know we can all struggle with finding the time for schoolwork, much less relationships. I have found that you have to prioritize your time like your life depends on it. Got an extra 30 minutes between two classes? Take that quiz you know is due at the end of the day. Feeling drowsy but know you need to move your body some so you feel better? Go to the gym while you have time.
My best piece of advice is to plan out your schedule on a calendar. I use Google Calendar to organize all of the “blocks” of my day so I know when I have free time to do schoolwork or hang out with friends. Check in with yourself and make sure the sea of business isn’t completely drowning you. If you notice the stress becoming too much, call a friend or even your mom and just get grounded again before proceeding with your day. Remember that your mental and physical health is more important than the time commitments you currently have sometimes. Be sure you also seek out the Lord in all you do.
Shaffer shared one last tip for dealing with Tunes season: “My advice to any freshmen doing tunes is to simply buy into your show and the community you’ll be with in either student life or cm tunes. This is one of the most convenient and opportune times to meet people. It’s just a genuinely fun experience to be a part of, especially if you buy in!”
Continue to keep pushing in all aspects. After all, Tiger Tunes is only about a month of your year, so cherish it! You only get four shows to perform in while you’re at Ouachita so understand that while this time is stressful, it is what you make it. Honestly though, if you have time to take a nap, I would.
