Take a day off of homework

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Take a day off of homework
Senior Abby Liebing plays volleyball at SAB’s 2018 Kickoff Cookout. Courtesy | Facebook

In my neighborhood back home there is a woman affectionately known as “The Cat Lady.” With more than 60 rescued cats, she has my family over every now and then to meet the new kittens and help her with chores. She would give me and my siblings the same advice every time we left: “Enjoy youth while you can, old age is a bummer.” 

With less than two weeks of classes left, most students are feeling the pressure of final papers and scrambling to cross the finish line of the semester. This panic can lead to late nights studying and cramming over weekends, but students should remember the importance of taking a day off from homework. 

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my junior year is not to take school too seriously. Everything always works out, assignments are turned in on time, and the stress we feel does not help us. Even when we finish one assignment, we’re immediately thinking about the next one and how much work we have left in the week. 

Yes, we all have seemingly endless readings, papers, and exams. Yes, the assignments seem to pile up more and more every day. Our automatic response is to bury ourselves in work, but we cannot work endlessly. We have to find time to rest and take moments, or even a full day, away from homework. Those assignments can wait. 

Especially on the rare days with nice weather, we should take time to hang out with friends outside. Some of my favorite memories from the fall semester come from playing sand volleyball at Baw Beese with my friends. I could’ve been doing work during those hours, but one thing my friends have shown me is the importance of recognizing why we are here. We are here to study and learn, but we are also here to grow as humans. We cannot grow without spending time with friends and forgetting about deadlines for a few hours. 

Very few of us will remember that one paper we wrote our junior year, but we all will remember the memories of friendship, laughter, and enjoying our youth while we can. 

 

Luke Morey is a sophomore studying history.