The joys of relaxation

I had big plans for intersession break. I wanted to take a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course that met for nine hours every day of break. I also wanted to catch up on some pleasure reading. I wanted to respond to a stack of letters sitting on my desk. But most of all, I wanted to relax.

As I finished with my finals, I began to celebrate the end of my semester and to look forward to my relaxing intersession break. Through a series of events late one night, I happened to have an accident that badly bruised my left foot. I was limping around campus for the next few days and realized that there was no way I could take WFR over intersession. I was flooded with feelings of relief and contentment at this turn of events. It was not that I didn't want to take WFR. On the contrary, I was disappointed at not being able to take it. But what I really wanted to do over intersession, I recognized, was sleep until noon, sit on my couch and watch movies. I wanted to be bored.

With all of my 'plans,' I had basically prevented myself from any sort of leisurely and relaxing vacation. I canceled my place in the WFR course and set out for a week of doing nothing at home. Not nearly as productive, I know, but quite enjoyable. And as I was sitting watching such cinematic accomplishments as "American Pie 2" and "Bring It On," I was glad that I had thrown away the intersession 'TO DO' list with which I had replaced my normal academic 'TO DO' list.

It was a revelation for a Type-A overachiever like me that doing 'nothing' was actually quite an important and productive activity. At the end of the semester, my brain was fried, tired and needed to rest with some completely mindless activities. (Hence, the aforementioned movies). Not that I had taken six classes or done anything amazing that meant I deserved a vacation more than anyone else on campus, but I feel that the level and intensity of work that the whole semester and, especially, reading period and finals demand, warrants a break for us all. And if you have any of the same overachieving and over-industrious tendencies I do, you know how quickly and easily you can try to accomplish way too many things.

I think it's something to keep in mind as we start a new semester. Breaks, rest and relaxation are as necessary as persistence, work and studying are. I think many of us have a tendency to become so wrapped up in what we have to do that we forget that we also have to rest sometimes. So, there is still that stack of letters sitting on my desk. I still have a stack of "pleasure reading" that I want to do. And, I still have not gotten certified as a Wilderness First Responder. But I did relax a lot. By the end of intersession, I was so bored that I could hardly wait to come back to Princeton. In the end, I guess, this relaxation and boredom were accomplishments in themselves, so I did achieve something over break.

It's just too bad that I had to almost break my left foot before I realized the importance of relaxation. It's a lesson that I hope to remember. And, for the time being, the dull pain in my foot will remind me with every step that I take. John Lurz is an English major from Lutherville, Maryland. He can be reached at johnlurz@princeton.edu.