You've only had four hours of sleep. You have a 9:30 a.m. class racing toward you. Your throat is sore. Your hamstrings are STILL sore from dancing Saturday night. You're achy all over. You're hungry, then you're nauseous. You just want to cry. It's your party; you can cry if you want to, but put a stopper on those tears for just a second. You just may become enlightened.
Stress and sickness prey upon students throughout the year, especially during midterms. Spring Break and the thought of sleeping in your own bed are looming ever closer, and you just want it to arrive already. You're not alone. We're all squished together on The U.Va. Stress Express, something that resembles the Northline at any hour on its busy route.
Instead of practicing deep breathing exercises to relieve you of all that pent-up stress, try listening to my good friend, Bob Marley. He mastered the art of chillin' with his reggae, something that can take us to his state of remarkable carelessness.
Once you mellow out to these tunes, pull out "King Leopold's Ghost", along with your jam-packed notebooks full of knowledge, and go to town. Take your time because, after all, you have all the time in the world. Don't think this is possible? Well, my friend, I'm going to have to disagree with you.
The time spent worrying is wasted forever. You can't get those hours back, nor should you want to. As you're sitting on your bed typing a paper, however, you're being productive. You have no worries. Perhaps Bob is "jammin'" in the background to maintain the carefree atmosphere.
You're on a roll as you press the keys furiously, inching closer and closer toward your wicked conclusion. Finally, you have arrived. Satisfaction washes over you once you complete your paper for that English class, or as you review that final flash card for your environmental sciences class, or perhaps after you fill in that last, pesky bubble like you've never shaded before for art. That relief is what Bob Marley is singing about in "Three Little Birds."
So maybe you didn't rise to three little birds "singin' sweet songs of melodies pure and true" on your doorstep, but you did wake up to greet the new day. Some people aren't so fortunate. You may have only received a meager amount of rest, but at least you could fall asleep. Maybe you'll receive your midterm grade after break and start freaking out because you didn't get the "A" that you wanted. Still, someone who really wanted to come to the University - but who wasn't accepted - would've killed merely to have the opportunity to take the test you're griping about.
Let's face it: You may have had that insane 4.0 in high school, but this isn't high school, as you all are well aware. Just remember: We are all in the same boat here at the University. We simply need to appreciate our accomplishments instead of dwelling on what has yet to be accomplished.
After finishing up all of your midterms and papers, after you're all packed and ready to head out on that open road, pause just once more to appreciate all you've done so far. You got through all of that stress with unacceptable amounts of shut-eye. You cranked out that paper on time, even when you had four other exams to keep you occupied.
"My message to you-ou-ou," isn't some silly lyric. It's a fact of life because, after all, "every little thing" may be all right, after all.
Mary's column runs biweekly Fridays. She can be reached at m.bruno@cavalierdaily.com
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