HANNAH CRITES
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
We are halfway through the semester now. This print for the Troubadour is the third of six, midterms are rapidly approaching, seniors working on their theses are realizing that their summer research wasn’t sufficient enough.
It’s amazing how quickly it passes by, but I’m realizing that in the midst of all the papers, projects, and studying, I am scrambling to get it all done and 10 p.m. all of a sudden becomes 1 a.m. I’m sitting at my desk going, “Where did the evening go?!”
The next morning, I am drinking more coffee than Lorelai and Rory Gilmore combined, my mind is racing with all tasks on my to-do list and I anxiously expect another late night, as much as I would love to be wrapped in a dozen blankets on my couch streaming Steve Carell yelling at businessmen about turtles on “The Office.”
I wish I could jump into my car and drive to the Canada side of Niagara Falls while blasting the Hamilton soundtrack, forgetting for a few hours that I am a very stereotypical white girl who cannot rap or dance well and I am not gangster by any meaning of the word.
I would rather sit on my front porch swing, sip my home-brewed kombucha tea, read “Life of Christ” by Fulton Sheen and marvel at how Sheen is not a saint yet.
Instead, I have to sit at my kitchen table, streaming Professor Symington’s lecture for online metaphysics trying not to yell at the screen that I have other things to do besides concern myself with the true definition of a circle.
I spend the weekend sleeping in and recovering from my busy week full of to-do lists, 200 plus pages of reading for class, 15 plus hours of work and writing.
At this time of year, it’s so easy to get caught up in all the things we have to do while trying to maintain a prayer life, friendships, household relationships, etc. It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed in the midst of everything going on at this point.
Reality check; my body is not made to stay up all hours of the night in order to get up early in the morning to head to class. My body starts hurting and I struggle to focus in class.
Bad headaches and shaky hands become the norm because of the amount of caffeine I’ve been putting into my system. I catch colds more easily and I feel more miserable.
This time of year is my reality check that I have to be taking care of myself. I might be an extreme case with my packed schedule and number of commitments, but the “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” philosophy is not healthy.
Nor is the “at this time next year, things won’t be so crazy, I can rest then.”
That mentality will send me to the grave faster.
In the creation story in the first chapter of Genesis. The Lord created everything we know; the sun, moon, waters, and land. And on the seventh day he rested. But there was no way that the Lord was tired. He cannot tire, it’s not possible for him to.
He didn’t rest because he was tired. Just as Jesus is a perfect example of how we as people ought to be, the Lord as creator is an example for us on balancing work and rest.
To maintain healthy mental stability, rest is necessary. The Lord doesn’t want us to overdo everything. He wants us to take time and simply rest. To take a break and reflect on all the work that was done throughout the week.
If you are like me and your life is constant go, go, go, take a moment to rest, for your own sanity and out of love for those around you. Plan a game night with a group of friends, go for a walk on the golf course, sit in the lobby of the dorms and read the Troubadour.
Resting is no excuse to skip out on school work or other commitments. You should know yourself well enough to know what your limits are.
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” – Mark 6:31