A year ago, I wanted to grow up fast. I pictured myself as an adult. I would be a powerful New York City magazine editor, gabbing with celebs over sushi, making appearances at fashion shows and, and wearing only the hottest designers' clothes around the office and city. I would be the most successful editor, and life would be good.

So, my plan to get to the top involved lots of experience and loading my plate full of jobs. Easy, right? Besides having a full class load, I became an editor at this paper, editor of a monthly teen section in a local paper, weekly columnist for that same paper and editor-in-chief of the yearbook on campus.

Everyone from my adviser to my best friend warned me of what I was getting myself into. I took in what they said, but knew I could handle it. After all, New York City editors work more than this, right?

The beginning of the school year started out great. I was on top of the world with my firm grasp on everything. I would sit, talking on my cell phone, while in a meeting and writing an e-mail in my office ... I amazed myself with my ability to multitask.

Everything was going great, until I started getting too stressed. It even affected my social life, because I found myself having to ditch my friends for work. Yuk, right? When they would invite me to go to dinner or something fun, I found myself saying "I can't," more times than "yes." My friends from out-of-town left messages inquiring as to why I had mysteriously dropped off the face of the planet from Instant Message, and I started to forget exactly what my apartment looked like.

It didn't hit me that I was missing out on things until my friends would be talking about something that had happened, which I knew nothing about.

The other night, at 2 a.m., I finished editing the final pages of the yearbook for this school year (which came out absolutely fabulous, if I do say so myself!). I was covered in red ink, my hair was a mess and I was so tired that I was delirious. But, at that moment, I realized something. I was sad to be finished with what I call "my baby," but I now had that extra time to devote back to the people with whom I love spending time.

It is so easy to get too involved with life, that you let it slip away. Maybe your engineering homework is taking over your weekends, or your architecture projects keep you from experiencing the nightlife.

Whether you are constantly stressed or too tired to hang out, I have learned it is important to remember one thing: Life is going on out there, whether you are pushing yourself or not. No one is going to tell you to go easy on yourself, and no one is going to make it easier. You have to do that yourself.

So, I am glad to say that I am officially back in the game of life. Of course, I still have a million things on my plate (it'll always be that way, though, because I'll never change). But one thing is for sure. To my friends, I will be there when you try to reach me, and I promise to say "yes" more often than "I can't." And to my work, I will still say "bring it on," but this time, it will include the words "a little at a time."

Julie Miller is a junior journalism major from Shreveport and serves as managing editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to Jem028@latech.edu.