Each summer I move back home with my parents, and I come to a special sort of realization. After three boxes of Oreos have disappeared from the cabinet, the television has been turned on to a 12-hour Degrassi marathon for six hours and getting up to go to the bathroom starts to feel like the burden of writing a term paper, I realize that relaxation stresses me out.
I start to think about weight gain, my brain frying, my impending honors thesis, my financial situation, how I prefer that baking soda toothpaste to the terrible junk my parents keep here.
But this summer has created an extra-special epiphany. Now, in addition to my weekends filled with much of the above, I work full-time for a textbook publisher.
I appreciate the steady income, and I think the people who I work with are astoundingly intelligent. But I’m still the lowly intern. I never knew it before, but my specialty in life may actually be making copies and figuring out the best way to organize a spreadsheet to track every public health textbook printed in the modern age.
It’s come down to this. I’m stressed when I’m working, and I’m stressed when I’m relaxing. I was talking to another intern at lunch on Friday about my predicament, and she nodded her head.
“I’m just scared of getting used to this way of life,” she said.
She recently graduated and has decided to move to India to tour with her aunt who is in a traveling band.
But what are the rest of us not retreating to India supposed to do? It’s not totally hopeless. I have figured out several things that will actually make you feel less stressed out and make summer more of a time for growth than mental atrophy.
Never, ever leave school. Many of you are probably sitting through hours of chemistry lectures and English discussions right now and can feel no sympathy for my predicament, but I’m here to tell you that I consider you to be the lucky ones. I would honestly love to be in summer school right now. It gives you a daily sense of purpose. You don’t spend eight hours a day at your computer wondering if anyone finds your work valuable or useful.
You can also do research. Think about what area of your major interests you the most and think of a question that hasn’t been answered in your field. Read books, articles and anything you can get your hands on so your brain doesn’t implode. When you get back to the regular school year, you can apply to do independent research and compile everything you’ve learned with the help of an adviser. Right now, we have the kind of free time that any scholar would envy.
If research is not up your alley, you could volunteer. There are so many great causes and organizations that are looking for volunteers right now. Get out there and do some good. For example, you could work at Habitat for Humanity and build houses for families in need. You could spend some time helping out at an American Cancer Society event. You could even volunteer with your local Humane Society and spend all day working with kittens, puppies and other ridiculously cute and furry things.
Take classes. I’ve started taking yoga during my lunch hour, which makes my Wednesdays much more pleasant. There are art classes, knitting classes, creative writing classes and so many other activities offered in the summer. You can check with your local recreation center or ask around and see what the people you work with participate in.
Finally, you could do something as simple as ride a bike. It’s a great reminder that a world exists outside of your couch and your cubicle. Or if you’re still in school, the bicycle can be an amazing vehicle to explore the world outside of Westwood in a carefree, throwback-to-your-childhood kind of way. I suggest visiting the 1-year-old Bicycle District just north of Koreatown. There’s lots of great food, bike shops and art everywhere.
Overall, I think the most important thing you can do for yourself is to stay productive. Do whatever it is that you love to do ““ paint, read, solve math problems, travel ““ and learn about things you thought you would never have time to learn about.
Or maybe I just enjoy overworking myself. Then again, I know I’m not alone. UCLA is full of overachievers and workaholics. Perhaps therapy would do us all better, or meditation, or sitting on the beach. That’s what vacation is all about after all.
Either way, writing this column has probably been the most productive thing I’ve done in weeks, and that feels worlds better than sitting idly on the couch or (surprisingly) partying all night.
If you are sick of Degrassi reruns too, e-mail Jones at cjones@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.