4.16.2012

Carpe Diem

     "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.' ... 'I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." -Thoreau, Walden.
     If you're a student like me, you probably feel that there just isn't enough time in each day. I think most people feel that way often times, especially with the prominence that technology -TV, video-games, the internet, etc. - plays in our lives today. The truth is that there are pockets of time, hidden underneath the busy schedules which we all juggle each and every day. If you really search for those time-consuming intervals in your life, you will find them.


San Francisco, CA

    To be honest, I'm not the most productive being out there, but the fact is that I am moving towards that ideal lifestyle which resonates the phrase Carpe diem with each passing hour. Some ways which I have "reduced life to its lowest terms" include not watching TV or playing video-games (In fact, we don't even have a TV in our house, which I'm grateful for), and deleting all the apps from my iPhone that tended to waste my time. That said, I still am a strong advocate for balance. As A. Huxley said, "Too much enjoyment blunts the fine point of seldom pleasure. Unrestrained indulgence kills not merely passion, but, in the end, even amusement. Too much liberty is as life destroying as too much restraint." This past weekend for me was perfectly balanced; in my mind, its more benign to have a weekend with some work and some leisure, than solely one of the aforementioned.



     I'd like to give a shout-out to Steve Jobs, who truly had such an impact on our world and its future; he will be greatly missed. Somewhat recently, I have found ways to incorporate my iPhone into the battle for productivity. Right before I jump in the shower, I start the timer and try to be out before 5 mins. The night before a quiz, as I'm reading the content aloud, I record myself so that I can listen to it the next morning as I drive my scooter to school. Earlier this year, I started taking photos of the homework for some of my classes, since it can take so long to write it all down. Now most of my class follows suit. Trendsetter? I think yes.

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