Sometimes, I envy smokers.
No, seriously. I know that sounds bad, but just hear me out! Here we all are, on this college campus together. Maybe you’ve got a lot of friends, or maybe you’re more of a loner. Maybe you like to go out every night and party it up, or maybe you’d rather get some sleep.
Heck, maybe you’re into studying really hard, or maybe you’re a slacker (pardon the use of language). I’m sure there’s at least one student on this campus that falls into each of these categories and I bet there’s a lot more, because we are all different, and we all have our own subtleties and quirks and traits that make us unique human beings who are relevant in some way. In fact, part of the vaunted “College Experience” is discovering what that relevance is: finding our niche in life, figuring out our calling—whatever it may be.
But while we are busy “finding ourselves,” we may get too caught up in it all. And when I say it all, I mean it all: classes, papers, projects, student organizations, meals, friends, work-study, internships, interviews, drugs (ignore that last one).
Essentially, we all have a lot to do, ‘cause that’s college, folks. From what I’ve heard, it (allegedly) isn’t nearly as bad as the real world—what with work, bills, gas, home improvement, family (if you’re planning on one), etc.—but it’s still hard. So hard, in fact, that someday you might realize that you have been busy every second of every day for the last three weeks and you haven’t had a moment to yourself since before you arrived on campus.
And you may find yourself wishing that you could find some time, but… but… there’s just too much to do! And then you continue about your busy, busy day.
But just as you have that realization, you walk outside and you see it: some guy or girl sitting on a bench, taking in the sunlight whilst he or she simultaneously takes in a mouthful of nicotine and tar in gaseous form.
Yes, you just saw a smoker. You’ve probably seen them a million times before, but this time, you realize something: because of their addiction, smokers are forced to take a break from it all and relax. It’s great, because it’s habitual as well. They have to find a designated time once or twice a day (heck, probably more) when they can sit back and take in the world, admire their surroundings, appreciate the little things—maybe even watch the sun set.
Not that I want to actually start smoking; I don’t have to smoke cigarettes to watch the sun go down. I do find it reassuring, though, that these people get their designated “take it slow” time, mostly because they have no choice, and they appear to be balancing their schedules just fine. So maybe I can too. In fact, maybe we all can.
At a time like this, no one could state it better than the bard of teen angst, John Hughes, in one of his greatest hits, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”: “Life moves pretty fast; if you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.”
Trey Treviño is a sophomore CTV major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
