I returned to my college on Friday to prepare for the graduation of this year's seniors. And I was having a conversation with one of my friends, when she said something that at first stunned me.
I was talking about something I liked. I asked her if she liked it, as well.
Her response? "Well, like is really a strong word."
When pressed, she explained that she understood what I was talking about. She knew that it was correct, but that didn't mean that she liked it, or wanted it to be that way.
This started me thinking about things that I, as a young adult, like, and whether I actually like them. For instance, I don't like getting up at certain times in the morning. But do I understand that I need to? Yes. Do I believe that this is often a valuable part of the way that I live? Yes. Do I like it? No.
In the past, I have ridden the line between what is necessary and what is not. When frazzled, I have had to make choices about what matters, and what to devote my time to. Often, the things that suffer are personal things, in favor of things like deadlines for classes and clubs.
Did I choose these things because I liked them, because they were more fun than things like outfits or enough sleep? I don't think so. I think I was operating under the premise that things that affect others are more important, and so while I might like to sleep more, it was my responsibility to finish this report, email this document, plan this event.
One of the keys to balance is the realization that what affects you adversely will spread into the things that you do. It won't work to deny yourself basic needs, and still turn out a quality product for others. Your presence, your well-being, is your first product. The things that you do for others is secondary. Which turns the tables a bit. It becomes that, while you would like to plan that event, you need to have more sleep. While you would like to finish that paper, you need to take a breather. Eat dinner. Watch a movie.
This of course isn't license to put off school work all day every day. Instead, the idea is that if one was to take care of oneself in the first place, organizing time between school and clubs and self, that one wouldn't need emergency breaks, all-nighters, or weekends off. Instead, a weekend would be divided between work and play, as would each week.
College is often lived as a series of sprints. A burst of studying for a test. A week of intense writing for a major paper. A scramble to finish an event, a set of meetings, a report. Days without sleep, and then days with nothing but. But college is not meant to be a sprint. It is meant to be 4 years in which you learn everything you want to about certain subjects, as well as yourself, with the idea that you will leave a well-rounded, fulfilled individual. And that requires marathon effort. Maybe not the fastest, and maybe not the flashiest, but a finisher. Be a finisher, not a sprinter. That's my goal right now.
Ancient Greek Tally- 8/102
No comments:
Post a Comment