We’ve all heard that before, and autumn seems like a good time to reflect on this time-tested adage. Now, I must admit, I am a procrastinator. Yes, to the chagrin and frustration of my parents, I often leave things to the last minute. I don’t have the foresight that my parents have when planning out tasks and scheduling. I assume that comes with life experience, but it is also probably just being very human.

I assume there are many people that put off doing things because they are too difficult, they feel overwhelmed or they are just plain exhausted. The self-help book or gym membership may be purchased with good intentions, but the follow-through is the trying task. Teenagers, I feel, have the market cornered on this behavior. There are so many distractions in our lives, especially with the prevalence of social media in modern society.

There are many excuses as to why we don’t get to things in a timely fashion or know exactly how to prioritize at this time in our lives. My priorities of communicating over social media with my friends are much different from my parents’ desire for me to spend some free time on SAT prep work. So back to my procrastinating… I didn’t exactly prioritize things like SATs over the summer, and I am taking them this fall for the first time. I have to say that my procrastinating is catching up with me. I do feel a little overwhelmed, but in those summer nights, this autumn seemed very far away.  

Today seemed distant back in July, but not now, and several academic due dates feel too close for comfort. I guess we’ve all been there, putting off today and doing it tomorrow. If you do this often, you become overwhelmed, as I am learning. So, it is better to plan, to have vision and anticipate the time it will take to get things done. “You reap what you sow.” I get it; I’m learning. Please don’t tell my parents they were right.

Isabella Dussias is a 16-year-old singer-songwriter/composer from New Jersey. She enjoys writing about issues that are important to today’s youth, and she believes music is an important outlet to connect people and share messages through the creativity of lyric and melody. For more information, please visit IsabellaDussias.com.