I am exhausted after a long week and weekend of homecoming activities. Granted, I would not have traded this week for anything. I love spending time with my friends, building floats, tailgating together and cheering on our football team. I’ve traded precious hours of sleep for memories that will last a lifetime. So the tradeoff was worth it, but I’m still tired and unmotivated.
For students, this time of the year is the worst because we eagerly anticipate the approaching holidays. We might rationalize simply coasting through the rest of the semester; our energy levels and willpower to learn weaken significantly.
Spending time doing things you enjoy is a surefire way to cure exhaustion or depression. As I thought about how much homework awaited me this week, I felt a strong urge to surrender and hibernate for the rest of the semester. Then something wonderful happened.
The SMU Wesley leadership team took a trip to C.C. Young, a retirement community located near White Rock Lake. Our original purpose focused on worshipping with the residents and celebrating All Saints Day. The trip had a profound impact on me. I have not been to a retirement home since doing community service in high school. Just spending an hour of my time with these wonderful people was refreshing.
As we walked around talking to the different residents, I found myself conversing with one lady. She was very friendly, talking about her old home in New Orleans and asked me if I had been inside the community chapel to see the beautiful stained glass. For the next fifteen minutes, Eleanor captured my undivided attention. As she talked about New Orleans, I found myself staring at her wrinkles – they framed a face of aged beauty. I imagine she must have been very beautiful in her youth. Her eyes – gray, yet still iridescent and full of life – twinkled as we talked about the good food and music of New Orleans. My heart softened and broke as I learned about her son who lived and worked in D.C. and the lack of grandchildren for her to visit and enjoy.
I thought about my own grandmother – I’m her favorite – and I longed to see her. I asked Eleanor how long she had been living at C.C. Young. She couldn’t remember. I almost cried. As our group gathered to leave, I wheeled her over to the dining area. She asked me to come sometime and eat with her. I couldn’t say no – I promised her I would return next week.
In one afternoon, I became more blessed and renewed by a single conversation than anything money can buy. In reflection, spending time with Eleanor and her companions at C.C. Young forced me to slow down and enjoy the immediate moment. Spending time with the elderly is not always fun. It can be frustrating when you can’t seem to communicate with someone because they are hard of hearing or are almost blind. It is difficult to spend time with someone that will never provide anything more than a good conversation. We live in a world that trains us to be “networkers” and “opportunity seekers” trying to create tangible value in everything we do. In this driven world, I found myself stuck in time. That conversation with Eleanor was timeless. For a moment, my upcoming tests and projects, the elections and even what I was eating for dinner didn’t matter. I was simply content spending quality time with someone I hardly knew.
As you finish reading this article and return to your busy life of scheduled appointments and to-do lists, I encourage you to think about the things that help alleviate your exhaustion. Maybe you need to do something as drastic as Billy Crystal in City Slickers or Henry Thoreau. Thoreau once said, “Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.” I imagine Thoreau found himself constantly rejuvenated by the surrounding nature.
We spend so much time investing in our academics, social life and financial portfolios. Take some time to invest in yourself and your relationships with others – do something that will replenish your soul. Maybe this means taking a personal day and going for a jog around White Rock Lake or discovering a new teashop or coffee house with a friend. I know that art always inspires me – go see the Hope Show this weekend or check out Dallas Museum of Art exhibit King Tut.
Take some time and call someone you love that you have not talked to in a long time. Call your grandmother or your mother and tell them that you love them. Call your best friend from home. As fellow students, encourage one another to stay strong and not give up – we still have a few weeks left before the semester ends. Now is the time to get well rested and prepare for term papers and projects before finals. Whatever you do – don’t stop. To quote something someone said this past week, “Keep on keeping on!”
Daniel Liu is a graduate engineering management major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
