I'm in the library basement right now, uploading William Byrd onto my iTunes for a final paper due next week. It's 7:30P.M. and I'm starving after a long day of studying and five finals still to come. The computer room is jammed with people just as stressed as I am. To every college senior reading this: WE ENVY YOU!!!!
My last post mentioned the shabbat that I had the privilege of attending, a Jewish meal that encourages fellowship, peace and balance. Nowhere more than in this very computer lab is the difficulty of balance evident. I tend to operate according to a go-big-or-go-home motto, pushing out papers hours before they're due, living off of these oatmeal orbs that sustain me for exact periods of three hours, and employing more procrastination than is healthy. The other day, my housemates and I reflected on the tenets of our house and evaluated where we've failed and succeeded. Unsurprisingly, balance fell into our do-better-next-time category.
Fordham has challenged me in ways that I could not have imagined: socially, academically, spiritually. It has pushed me and forced me to produce good work. Yet, the shabbat reminded me that college is about so much more than working and socializing. College is about learning, making friends, having fun, and taking on life with balance so that we can appreciate what it's worth!
I'm leaving the library now. I'm going back to my apartment to sit for a while and to eat real food (rather than the trail mix in my backpack that I've been snacking on). Soon it will be summer and I, too, will enjoy the same lazy, hazy days that high school seniors currently hog!
Happy (early) summer to you. I hope that your last days of high school, or junior year, or wherever you are right now, are filled with joy, peace, balance. And I hope you take the time to be with those you really care about, to tell them that you love them, and to cherish where you are and who you're with in a moment that will give way to many moments even more beautiful.
