Looking at the news lately it seems like nothing good happens anymore. This may seem a little pessimistic, but the media continually publicizes bad news because it catches our attention. Recently, for example, everyone has been hearing about forest fires burning down all of California, people going missing and leaving their families behind, war and terrorism, and the list goes on. I get depressed just reading the news.
Sadly, last week my life seemed to resemble the news. It seemed just one after another, bad things kept happening. First, I didn’t do nearly as well on a major test as I had hoped to do. Next, I got a stomach bug and was terribly sick for two days. As soon as I had recovered, I got in a car accident on my way to class. That night my car battery died, and, on top of all of that, I was stressed beyond belief with class assignments that never seemed to stop piling up on each other.
Now, I know it’s not just me. Everyone has weeks like this once in awhile. The question is why. Once you determine why bad weeks or days happen, it is easier to muddle through the mess and shrug it off.
Where can you find this type of insightful information? I have learned that parents have life figured out pretty well, so they are an excellent source of advice. For this reason, last week, as the days just seemed to get worse, I asked my mom why my week was going so terribly. I wasn’t surprised when she quickly responded with an answer that not only made sense, but also helped lift my spirits. She told me, “If bad things didn’t happen to you, you wouldn’t appreciate the good things when they came along. You would simply take everything for granted and live a life without feeling. It applies to everything. If you were never sad, you wouldn’t recognize happy. If you never stressed out, you wouldn’t know calm.”
This inspired me. Who wants to live a life without feeling? By keeping this piece of wisdom in the back of my mind, I made it through that bad week, and this week feels better than ever. I have had only a couple of class assignments, the insurance company decided the accident wasn’t my fault, and when I went to get a new battery for my car, the dealership gave me a sporty convertible as a loaner.
As a junior at SMU, I know that within the next few weeks everyone is going to start feeling the pressure of finals building up and a few things are bound to not go your way. It’s OK. Just imagine how great Christmas break is going to feel. According to my extremely intelligent mother, without suffering through those few excruciatingly terrible exams days, you would not get to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction after finishing. Without accepting the challenge of a college education, you would not understand the ultimate feeling of relaxation, Christmas break, sitting at home watching movies and hanging out with friends worry-free for almost a month.
So, as you sit in the library that week before finals, wishing bad things such as final exams didn’t happen to you, take pride in the fact that you have this extra little piece of wisdom, and think about how great Christmas break will feel.
About the writer:
Jessica Badger is a junior marketing major and a CCPA minor. She can be reached at [email protected].
