keikogoblyn:

I’m still finishing thesis up but I’m finally starting to get a bit of free time….but I feel guilty every time I do something ever that doesn’t involve school. (I’ll probably feel guilty about writing this). I’m hoping it’ll just take time to adjust from super busy work schedule to nothing/finding…

Bah, there was a character limit. I’ll reply in a repost.

When I was going through my final stretch of schooling I felt the exact same way. Any time taken away from doing school work caused a lot of guilt and stress. When I finished school it was even worse because there was now this huge debt incoming in 6 months. I looked for some work but was just flat out rejected. Most of my opportunities were coming from my dad’s friends, which meant animation. Most of that required some kind of knowledge of Maya or 3DS MAX since nearly every studio is moving away from 2D. That made it worse since that just compounded the stress. “I needed to learn a 3D package in less than 6 months and find a job?” I thought to myself. I actually spent an entire month on digital-tutors.com learning the basics of how to use Maya. Finally, I was under the impression that since I had all of this free time I had to be making a ton of work. And yet I was paralyzed when it came to making work because I was unsure of what work to make that would get me a job. All of the stress made my stomach and chest hurt, like intense pain right inbetween the rib. I couldn’t eat anything without experiencing pain. I was worried it was something serious. The doctor basically said that the stress was fucking with my stomach, and that I needed to relax. (Oh, and drink milk with every meal.) So I’ve just taken a break during these months, and only made work when it felt right to make work. I don’t work on anyone else’s schedule. I watch tv and lay in bed. I work out (which actually helps a lot with stress.). I play videogames. That’s it. I feel lazy, but my stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, and I feel physically better. College is an intense experience, especially during the end. And you’ll do yourself a disservice if you don’t take the time during these next few months to relax.

That’s my advice. I’m not sure if it helps.