Take a breath: Why a little 'me time' can go a long way

Does anyone else hate admitting that their par­ents are right, or is it just me? I loathe telling my dad he was right about anything, because he just chuckles to himself as if to say "I told you so." There is one lesson, how­ever, which I don't mind telling him he was right.

I remember when I was about 9 years old, complaining to my dad that I was tired of being a kid. I was a determined little guy and wanted to shave, work all day, and even wear a suit.

I will never forget what my dad told me, "Don't grow up too quick, enjoy it while you can."

Obviously my nine year-old self could not handle the magnitude this statement holds ten years lat­er; the last thing I want to do now is grow up.

Right now, I'm a jokester. Ask anybody who knows me well and they'll tell you I love to make peo­ple laugh.

Although I consider this won­derful thing my greatest gift, some people have said that it's time for me to grow up and be mature.

People can criticize my maturity - they can say I don't take things seriously and that I'm basically a man-child. Instead of fighting with those people, I just take the criticism with a grain of salt.

I'll tell you right now, when you are comforting someone who is having problems, the best thing to do is make them laugh. I hear juniors and seniors in frenzy over every little assignment that they have and how it will affect their career.

When I overhear those people worrying about their future, I laugh a little bit to myself. It's not because I'm being insensitive. The reason I laugh is because I have absolutely no idea what life has in store for me...and I love it-I can do anything.

All this added pressure people put on themselves is ridiculous. They have all these extra-curric­ular, resume-building activities to ensure they have a job after college, but forget the whole purpose of college: to get to know yourself and what you want to do in life.

I hate to break it to you, everyone competing for that job has the same, if not more extra-curricular activities, and probably better grades. So what makes you stick out? Per­sonality.

This brings me back to my dad. He is very supportive in whatever I do. He cares about my grades, but ultimately asks me if I'm happy with how they turn out.

Back when I was nine I didn't fully understand the concept of growing up too quickly, and I still don't, but I feel I have a better grasp on what it means.

When you are feeling stressed out, make some me-time. I guess that's what my dad meant years ago. Focus on schoolwork, but don't forget to leave some time for yourself.

T.J. Brennan is a sophomore jour­nalism major from Floral Park, N.Y. He can be reached at Thomas.brennan@student.shu.edu.