As winter continues to torment us with dark and chilly mornings, I find my phone’s snooze button growing more appealing by the day. To save myself the embarrassment of sneaking into lecture a few minutes late, I have been driving around Grounds the last couple of weeks. Driving is faster, driving is easier and I have the car — I might as well use it. While this seemed like a great plan at first, as time has crept along, it’s appeared less and less ideal.
For example, you would think after four years of attending the University, I would have mastered the ParkMobile app, but alas I have not. The result? Four parking tickets in the first three weeks of class.
Not only is my bank account suffering, but I have also developed a sudden sense of loneliness. Throughout the arctic tundra that was January, almost every time I drove somewhere I passed my friends walking down the Corner all bundled up in their fuzzy hats and mittens. Despite my ferocious waving, their rosy cheeks didn’t spot me behind my metal prison of a Chevy Equinox. As I drove away, I realized that I missed bumping into friends, professors and even ops while wandering around Grounds.
These moments gripping my freezing steering wheel opened my eyes to all I was sacrificing by choosing to drive rather than walk. I was sitting alone in my car, speeding past the joys of daily life and watching through the window as my friends used their youthful energy to feel the full breadth of humanity — like dodging ice patches on poorly iced sidewalks. Yes, driving was saving me time and energy, but was that convenience worth living this watered-down version of life, absent of feeling, friends and cute mittens?
But truly, it's not about the driving, even if I have developed a vendetta against parking tickets. Rather, it's about the mentality behind driving. Like most college students, chasing convenience to increase productivity and reduce discomfort is the justification for a lot of my decisions. And who can blame us? We want to make the most out of our short lives, and saving time on things we “must” do makes more time for the things that we want to do.
This outlook on life seems reasonable enough, but when considering that a significant chunk of our time is spent on these “must-do” tasks — eating meals, going to work etc. — this philosophy starts to falter.
Once I noticed that I was running my life like a Fortune 500 company, I realized my day-to-day schedule was riddled with habits to maximize efficiency. I take lecture notes on Google Docs rather than using a pen and paper, even though the screen both hurts my head and strains my attention. I eat Chipotle, Cava or Chick-fil-A multiple times a week, even though making my own food is healthier, cheaper and more satisfying. I rely on the little metal box in my hand for direction, communication and entertainment, despite it simultaneously filling my mind with anxiety and frustration. And my excuse for it all? Convenience, convenience, convenience.
I am so busy trying to save time, that I'm actually wasting it away. I’ll just send this quick email in the Bodo’s line to save myself a few minutes in the library later. I’ll just buy this dress on Amazon so I don’t have to stop by Finch this afternoon to get an almost identical one. I’ll just speed 90 mph down 64-East so I get to my job 10 minutes faster. Yeah, I might crash before I get there, but time’s ticking! The thump, thump, thump of my heart races the tick, tick, tick of the clock as I save just, just, just enough time to ease my mind.
And I don’t think I am alone in this. Most of us are rushing through life like braindead hamsters running on our wheels. We are so focused on “saving time” — but what are we saving it for? Whatever it is, is it worth watching our lives shrink behind us in the rearview mirror? We are living in the name of convenience, but in the process we are numbing ourselves to the human experience.
Since noticing my subconscious adherence to this mindset, I have tried to actively subvert it. Yesterday, for instance, I decided to buy groceries in-person instead of ordering food out. I even went the extra step of waiting in the normal checkout line instead of doing self checkout. Sure, bagging my own groceries is faster, but the elderly lady working the cash register looked nice enough.
Well, thank goodness I did, because that nice lady informed me that my bacon was rotten! Through this ordinary, five-minute interaction, I learned not only that a smile from a stranger is always going to brighten your day, but also that if raw meat is brown, that’s probably a bad sign. Who knew? Definitely not the girl who buys Chiptole three times a week.
I am going to start measuring my life in interactions like this one, not in miles per hour or tasks per day. That cute boy behind you in the Bodo’s line and that sweet girl working at Finch are waiting for you to start living your life like it's more than a never-ending to-do list, just like the kind cashier at Harris Teeter was waiting for me. Sure, you can LineLeap at Coupes if you really want to, but everyone knows the best conversations happen while waiting outside.
Maybe instead of seemingly maximizing our amount of time, we should focus on making all of our time more meaningful. Shut your laptop and actually write down your thoughts with a Dixon Ticonderoga. I know your hand can’t move as fast as your brain — that’s the point! Resist the snooze button tomorrow morning and walk the long way to class. Yes, it will take a little longer than usual. But at least you’ll smile at a friend or two on the way. Yes, your cheeks might grow a little rosy from the morning chill. But at least you’ll know you’re alive.
Grace Scott is a Life Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at life@cavalierdaily.com.
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