You know, it's amazing how much smarter your parents become in the five years between 16 years old and 21 years old.
I was just talking to my dad about recovering from illness - I've been battling flu the last six days or so - and complaining about not being able to get up and go to class. He was counseling me to take it easy. One sentence in particular got me: "How much longer do you expect to live? Seventy years or so - it's a long journey, so take care of your body."
Reflecting on that, it's great advice. Often, we college students, much like children, lack the perspective to make wise decisions. If I had followed my impulse, I'd have forced myself to go to class Tuesday and today, driving myself to exhaustion, prolonging the illness and possibly causing further harm to myself. Such a lack of perspective is simply a sign of youth. Having experienced only a short portion of our lives, we look forward only a little bit. How many of us, for instance, have considered blowing off a test or a class, without regard to any potential long-term impact on our futures?
A friend illustrated this perspective with an anecdote. Any time he has a decision to make, he asks himself how he would evaluate his decision looking back at age 70. How many of us have such foresight? I find difficulty looking forward 10 years, let alone 40. Yet, as college students, the decisions we make at this juncture are of critical importance to the remaining six decades of our lives. For example, what if you have unprotected sex and contract, say, chlamydia or HIV? Or what if you drink a few beers too many, drive home and wrap yourself around a lamp pole, leaving yourself paraplegic for those 60 years?
We have to think about these things. We're no longer children. We've already lived about 25 percent of our lives under the supervision of our parents, and now it's time to take responsibility ourselves for the remaining 75 percent. So ask yourself: how will your decisions today affect the rest of your life? Is partying tonight worth the knowledge and understanding you're giving up by not studying?
There's a balance to be reached. Even if we have the responsibly to take care of our futures, we also have to remember that those 60 years are all we have left on earth, so we need to make sure to live each day as fully as we can. That is not to say we must act impulsively. Instead, we must not waste our lives.
So do not waste your life, but at the same time, do not live your life irresponsibly. As young adults, it's our duty to strike that balance now, make important decisions responsibly and live the rest of our lives the same way. That's why I'm going to be at home resting, not going to class, today. And that's why you should keep your decisions in perspective, too. Ask yourself how you'll remember the decision when you're 70 years old.
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