It should come as no surprise to anyone when I say that life is busy. Take your local Brian Keim for example: between my 15 credit hours this semester, working at the Writing Center, planning for potential summer jobs, my obligations as opinion editor for this lovely publication and improv that meets twice weekly, on top of attempting to maintain regular exercise, constant contact with those closest to me and maybe play through “Metal Gear Solid 2” at some point, I have a lot on my plate. Yet, I consider my workload to be on the lighter side compared to my peers.
The high-stress life of a college student can often be a bit much and it’s natural to wish for the work to stop flowing and for a day of rest free from responsibilities. I even find myself often wishing for just those things. However, upon further reflection, I am forced to wonder if that would truly make me happy. Rest is a nice thing to have, but I’m not entirely convinced that a life without work would be an upgrade from the one I live currently.
Well, a life without work is implausible given my current situation, so for now I’ll just do my best to imagine a life with less work. What would I do if I wasn’t constantly being bombarded by assignments and obligations? Would I take the time to kick back and simply enjoy myself for the rest of my days? That sounds nice, but I feel like it would get old fast.
Just the other day, I looked at the amount of work I had to get done that day and found that I had some time to spare in which I didn’t have to do anything. After a brief feeling of relief, my disposition turned to boredom. I had absolutely nothing to do. I could relax a little, maybe watch a show, but I was in a mood to get stuff done. I wanted to be productive. Without a task that needed to be done, I simply found myself bored.
Don’t misunderstand me: I love relaxing. I love the feeling after a long day of work when I get to sit down and do something that I want to do. However, I also acknowledge the important role that the actual work plays in that process. There is no light without darkness and there is no relaxation without work.
Even outside the realm of schoolwork, I love having things to do. I have an ever-growing, long watchlist of movies, a stack of video games that need completing and several other personal projects. Sometimes I imagine what would happen if I watched all those movies, beat all those games and completed all my pet projects. What would I do in that scenario? Honestly, I think I’d make something for myself to do.
I can’t stand being idle. Any extended period of time spent doing nothing is time that I see as being wasted. I want to spend my time helping people around me, putting art into the world or just enriching my own personal experience. Sometimes these goals require some rest, in which case I welcome it. Most times, though, I have to keep working. It’s what I live for.
