Adding a Bit of Excitement to the College Life...

As I walked back to my room last night in the cold, wind, and rain, I had time to think. Not about homework, studying, or finals (... ugh), but I actually had time to think about life and how I am living it. Just days after writing my first post, I had once again joined in the normal hustle and bustle of every day life, completely neglecting my own ideas about how life should be lived.

Yet, as a college student who wants to be successful, I have to fall into this societal stampede that forces us all to rush though life. I wish I could escape this pressure to hurry through school and learn what I need as fast as I can, but with the weight of student loans and knowing bills will undoubtedly form a mountain on my kitchen table when I graduate, I cannot resist the mind frame of school and work as the two most important aspects in my day-to-day life.

However, I have realized that just changing up the daily routine makes life a lot more enjoyable and gives me an outlet to notice the little things that turn just another day into a great day.

For example, the reason I walked in the cold, wind, and rain was to go the Rec. Sure, I could've taken the bus, but who wants to bother with trying to figure out which bus to take and at what time when the option of freezing your butt off walking uphill there and back is available? Okay, I know I should have taken the bus. But, I honestly did not realize how cold and how far away the Rec was until my legs went numb and I had to check if they were still there about halfway to my distant goal.

But, the peacefulness of the night is not something I get to enjoy each day. Even with the rain and wind, the calmness of the night went uninterrupted. The rain in the lights from the street lamps and the sound of the wind could have almost fooled me to believe that I was on the beach looking at the waves and listening to sound of them crashing on the beach. Yea, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but the point is that without the comfort of my backyard, I can't just go sit outside and look into the night sky as often as I'd like. (And I guess the fact that everyone would think I was weird or a creeper just looking into the sky randomly in the middle of the dorm buildings has prevented me from doing such on a regular basis.) This one change in my daily schedule to go to the Rec made my day, just by allowing me to spend some time outside during the best part of the day, in my opinion at least.

So, one little journey to a far away land brought a little excitement to my mundane life of work and school. What else can I do to change it up and make each day a new adventure?

Well, for starters, maybe I should try a new food each day. Probably all of you reading this know that I like my regular food... and apparently those serving me my food have noticed too. Today I was again (yes, again!) asked by yet another server about my choice of two soft tacos. Hey, what can I say? They are absolutely delicious! But, maybe I should take this as a hint that I eat too many soft tacos and try a new food. One of these days I'm bound to find a new favorite, right?

My other ingredient for my spicy new life (yes, these little changes really could make that much of  a difference) is to study in different places every now and then. I mean since I have been trying to leave my room as much as possible, I have found that I get a few more laughs when I study elsewhere. Like when I discovered that the big projection screen in the basement only allows you to change the volume and not the channel. So no matter how fast I press the + button, I will not get to channel 35 soon enough to watch the season finale of The Buried Life. (And yes, 35 is loud enough to hear the TV for the entire basement, and probably the first floor as well) Or as my fellow basement studier found, waving your arms wildly while sitting in your chair, will not activate the "motion" detector lights no matter how many times you try.

So, from the time that I have taken to smell the roses, I have realized that although I feel like I have only the options of doing homework and working, I can still make miniature adjustments each day that could possibly make each day filled with a little spontaneity. A new food here, a different place to study there, and a sprinkle of talking to a few fresh faces will make this next semester a bit more bearable to get through, I hope.

(Scheduled spontaneity for the day = check)