They say change is a good thing. As college students, we are faced with some major life changes. Once we leave high school, it suddenly seems like every decision we make could be a life-altering one. We're told to venture out and try new things in college -- take bizarre classes, change our major three times if we so desire, play a new sport -- essentially, step outside our comfort zone for a change. But is change always a good thing? What if we like the fact that some things never change? How do we reconcile the urge to change course in college, when perhaps what we really want is for things to stay the same?
Many extol the virtues of establishing a daily routine, and rightfully so. It's a way to order our lives, to make our way through the chaos of the day. We take comfort in routine, in knowing what to expect on a given day. At the University, we're all overachievers who inevitably bite off more than we can chew, and that type-A personality makes life ridiculously overscheduled. We seek out ways to meet the craziness of college head on, and so, consciously or not, we establish a routine: rise at 7:30, go to the gym, go to class, go to extracurriculars, go to the library to work, eat, go home to work some more, spend a few hours Facebooking and IMing, work some more, sleep. Repeat.
Before long, life becomes, well, predictable, and you become "a regular." You frequent the Corner Starbucks so often you no longer have to order. The employees greet you by name (they know it from writing it on the cup so many times) and place your order for a grande soy cappuccino without a second thought. You get the same sandwich for lunch every day at the Pav. You kindly request "the usual" and smile contently as the nice sandwich lady knowingly says, "Sure thing, honey." You go to the gym at the same time, use the same machines and lift the same weights every week. It's your routine -- it's just what you do.
But what happens when you start to feel suffocated being "a regular," when your "usual" begins to taste bland, when you start referring to the people you see at the AFC as your "gym friends"? You grow restless, bogged down in the routine, stuck in a monotonous rut. You need a change, so you think, OK, I'll go study abroad, change my major, transfer to the E-School, dump my soul mate and date someone else. Such grandiose life changes can seem daunting, but you're so desperate for a change that suddenly you find yourself in a foreign country yearning for the Starbucks guy to greet you at the door and craving your "usual" from the Pav. Why can change be so desirable yet terrifying at the same time?
I'm all for routine. I like having a schedule, a plan for the day. I don't like to leave anything to chance. I admit, I could use a little more spontaneity every now and then, but on a daily basis, I like to know what I'm doing. I do, however, get bored very easily and require frequent changes of pace in order to not feel like a robot that is merely getting through life rather than living it.
Hence, I vary the routine. Whoever said, "Variety is the spice of life" is a wise soul indeed. It's refreshing to change things up a bit but still go about your days in much the same fashion. Whether it's walking a different route to class or studying in a different library, little variations keep life interesting. I say try a new coffee shop, go off the board at the Pav, ditch the elliptical and give the Stairmaster a whirl.
But sometimes small variations in the routine are not enough, and that's when it's time for something bigger. For me, it was taking last semester off to intern in New York. While the prospect of leaving the University for an entire semester and living in New York was unnerving at first, it turned out to be the best thing I have ever done for myself. And while there's comfort in routine, there's also comfort in knowing that when you do make a big change there are people in your corner -- family, friends, significant others -- who are constants. They're the ones who know you best and keep you grounded in the face of change. They remind you of who you are if you ever become overwhelmed by the unfamiliar.
So, as we begin a new semester and settle into our routines, don't forget to shake things up every now and then. And for all you first years wondering if you'll be a different person in four years, it's true that some things never change ... but your sheets should not be one of them.
Lauren's column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays. She can be reached at pappa@cavalierdaily.com.
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