Penn State is a utopia on caffeine pills. Happy Valley is filled with happy people doing 100 happy things all at the same time.
It's a perfect world on speed, and it's making my head spin. I wish people would slow down and relax, myself included.
College is becoming a glorified anxiety attack. Free time is a laughable concept. I don't even know how to handle free time if it unexpectedly presents itself.
For example, I ran around like a possessed man with a free-base coffee addiction last week, finally taking care of all my responsibilities by late Friday afternoon. So, upon realizing that I had no immediate obligations, I bought a six-pack of beer and lied down on my couch to watch some college basketball.
Ten minutes later, I pounded the last beer, turned off the TV, and looked for something else to do. I'm living on fast forward and I can't get my finger off the button.
This fast-paced style of living, with its high-strung attitudes and high blood pressures, is very America h are stereotypes, of course, but not entirely unjustified.
We do work too hard. So we have to ask if it's worth it. Well, we are the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world. We wouldn't have that uncontested heavyweight title if we didn't work hard. Nonetheless, we can afford to slow down. Americans need to chill out. Deadlines and due dates are making this country all nerves. Too much tension will eventually make us all delirious, a consequence which may not be far away.
Anyone who's taken a stroll down the streets of New York knows even the suave, suit-wearing business types teeter right on the brink of uptight insanity.
What this country needs is a perceptual sedative. "Slow" has practically become an insult in this country.
Call people slow and they're likely to flip you off. What's that all about? We should all be slow. We should walk slow so we can look around and enjoy the scenery. We should talk slow so we can enjoy each other's company. We should study slow, work slow, and breathe slow.
Americans run through life and finish in first place, but we spend the whole race wiping the sweat out of our eyes. I would much rather go at a nice easy pace and see things clearly.
Contrary to popular belief, time is not scarce. We have time. At the beginning of every week, I look over my assignments and responsibilities and worry that I'll never have time to get everything done.
Somehow, though, I always do, and with lots of time to spare. But as an American, I can't help but worry that I won't be able to keep up, that I need to rush in order to get things done. I blame my warped culture for this habit, but it's a difficult one to break.
I'm trying to relax and slow down, and I think a lot of us need to do the same.
As the weather slowly gets warmer, we all need to fight our apple pie roots and let the sun melt away the tension. Leave for class five minutes earlier than normal and walk more slowly. Take the roundabout route to class just for the heck of it.
Bring a Frisbee to the HUB lawn before rushing off to the next appointment. Go to a seminar just to hear an intelligent person speak. Read the comics. Get a massage. Expand your "want to do list" and reduce your "have to do list."
Spring is finally here. Let's relax.
