Molly Risley, Charger Staff
I recently made what might arguably be one of the greatest discoveries of my life. I actually read about it a long time ago when I actually had time to read for fun, but only recently have I found that need for its practical applications. It’s called “me time.”
“Me time” is essential to leading a less stressful life. My average day before discovering “me time,” would sound something like this: I would go to school from 8-3, participate in extracurricular activities from 4-6, go to church and service club meetings from 6-8, and then go home only to find a five-hour mountain of homework waiting for me.
Generally, I would start my homework with a snack (on a plate next to me) and some music in the background; then somewhere in the wee hours of the morning I’d wake up to soggy Oreo crumbs floating in my lukewarm milk with the CD player making that annoying static fuzz sounds because the CD has long since finished, but the power is still on, and I haven’t taken the CD out of the player.
Not to mention that my five-hour mountain of work is only a slightly smaller four-hour mountain. I dread looking at the clock because I know it is going to tell me that it is two o’clock in the morning, and that I shouldn’t even bother going back to sleep because I’ll just have to get up in a few hours anyway. This kind of routine leads to all sorts of bad habits like drinking too much caffeine to stay awake, then falling asleep during class or feeling as if you have to cheat on homework to make good grades.
I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line I just got fed up with the whole system. People were always encouraging me to be involved, but the more involved I became, the more I was punished because I had less time to finish my load of homework. At some point, I just snapped!
I decided school was for learning, not necessarily making good grades, but for absorbing knowledge. Yes, good grades are nice, but they shouldn’t be what school is all about. After my great revolution slapped me in the face, I began to take “me time.”
The point of “me time” is to do something just for yourself for a little while each day that makes you happy. I’m not saying that you should get carried away and never fulfill any obligations or responsibilities, but if you feel like you’re going to collapse under the pressures of school, take a little “me time.”
If you feel as if everyone you know is pulling you in a thousand different directions, give yourself a break. Most of us want to graduate and go on to the “real world,” but what good will we be to the “real world” if we are burnt out on learning or at least on doing work and have no passion for new discovery?
The old saying “You are what you eat” can be applied to people’s habits. The way we work and how we prioritize our lives in high school will carry over into life after high school, so it is important to learn to balance our lives as best we can now because it will just be more difficult as time goes on. “Me time” is the central element in creating a balance between personal needs and obligations to others. Learn to use “me time” to your advantage, and you will lead fuller, happier, more productive lives.
Article prepared for web by Phillip Swystun
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