Priorities and Boundaries

Everyone has expectations for you.
Most parents expect you to sacrificially give of your time to take care of their stuff, just as they did when you were little. They expect you to agree with them, and be available. To be a good example to everyone.
Some teachers expect you to put school first. To de-prioritize the rest of your life. To live, eat, and breath school.
Friends expect you to be yourself as long as your not upset, stressed or angry. (unless you have an *awesome* friend (which I do).
Peers expect you to fit into their social clique, and if you don't, to stay away from their social clique.
Society expects the genders to fit into a specific role, and we *all* know those stereotypes, and we all know how inconsistent they are with *real people*. (aka everyone) They do fit a hand-full of people but certainly not enough to say all women are or should be: "_________ ", or all men are or should be: "_________"

Everyone has certain expectations.
But. You and I should never let the expectations of others affect who we are and how we act. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying any of this so you or I can have an excuse to be a total jerk.
I am saying this because I think it's important to recognize that yes! Other people have expectations of me, but it's okay for me and for you to say no.

If you love singing, SING! If you need to prioritize family instead of school, DO IT! If you need to sleep because you are so exhausted that you're living off of coffee, SLEEP! If you need to take a mental health day because you need the world to calm down so your head can stop spinning, TAKE A DAY! If you enjoy playing chess, but that's not cool with your peer group, PLAY CHESS and FIND BETTER FRIENDS!
You should never EVER let the expectations of others keep you from being okay, or from being yourself.

A college professor recently told my class that health, and family, and life circumstances has no correlation to my classes or to music (I'm majoring in music) and that I should always be there, on time, and have practiced.
WRONG.
For you in your life, that may be fine, and for him in his life, it obviously is fine.
But I prioritized school over family and friends literally my entire life, and all through high school I struggled with deep depression to the point of attempting to end my life. All because I put no effort into human contact, fun, rest, joy, really anything that had to do with actual friends. I did have a few friends throughout high school and they were awesome. and for quite some time they put up with my literal insanity. But I never prioritized them, and the depression from just living and breathing school almost killed me.
So if you need to deal with life instead of school for a day: DO IT. Obviously don't be lazy and just skip school. Be dedicated to what you put into your life and put effort into the things you have in life. school is important ya'll. But if your life is so focused on school that you're depressed. Something. HAS. to change.
For college kids like me who live with your parents. It's okay to say you have homework or you can't help today. You are an adult, and you need to take responsibility for the things in your life and sometimes you can't be there for dinner, or you can't clear the table. It's okay to say no. Now here's another caviot: you make dishes too, and you make messes too. Don't make your parents clean up your messes. Clean up after yourself. That is part of your responsibility. If you can't do it right that second, do it later. But you do not need to say yes to everything, be helpful and don't make your parents clean up your messes. But if you have to do something else, SAY NO.
We are all adults young, in the middle or old. We all have responsibilities to our health, our mental state, our schedule, our family, our friends, work, and REST. Let's stop letting unrealistic expectations damage our relationships, our health and our mental ability to cope. Say no. Prioritize what *you* need to prioritize, reevaluate when you need to, and don't let other people tell you you're not good enough if : "__________"
You are you. You have specific needs, specific responsibilities, specific schedules. What other people say is not going to change any of those things. They don't and can't have that control over you. They can't tell you what you can/cannot feel or how you're doing, and nothing they say can actually change your reality. only you can.
So make your priorities, a priority.
Take care of the things in your life.
Follow through on your responsibilities.
and for goodness sake: take some breaks.
Your life is your responsibility, and not anyone elses.

So before I keep beating the same bush again: You do you, say no, set boundaries. Be. Free. And remember, you can't change them, that is between them and God. And they can't change, that too is between you, and God.

Lord I pray that you would give us the grace and courage to be ourselves. to seek you first. to say no when we need to and take up our responsibilities and care for them. Lord help us to be passionate about you about what's in our lives, and about the people in our lives. We ask that you would give us your wisdom and grace so that we can grow into a people after your heart. A people who lifts each other up, and doesn't tear each other down. A people who lives life to the fullest without changing who we are for fickle people. Lord help us to be the best we can be in your eyes, and to live out a life that is pleasing to you. We ask these things in your name. Amen.