Go to school? then to work? pay the rent? finish that paper? after that, do some laundry? make dinner and then rest because you have another big day tomorrow.

Most college kids lead a hamster-in-a-wheel life. Even though we may wear different outfits and it’s a different day, we end up variably doing the same things. But it’s not like we have a choice, right? Wrong!

While it’s true that we have to go to classes in order to get that degree, and we have to work to make a living, our approach on how to do things and live life in general can be spontaneous?if you want it to be.

The other day on my way to work I was passing through the University Union after a class I’d just taken and I stopped in the middle of a stampede of students. I looked at everyone around me and saw students drinking coffee, laughing at inside jokes, gossiping, and reading compelling books. I had to go to work but that “pause” that I took in the University Union reminded me that there is more to life than homework, deadlines and schedules.

No one can take away the value of an education, nor the character building task that comes with any occupation, but people can become so easily jaded with the daily stress that is matrimonial with college life.

It is extremely important that people realize this and do something about it. While I’m not suggesting we drop our responsibilities altogether, we can alter them a little bit to improve the quality of our lives.

The other day I took some time off work (that I will make up for later) but I took some time off work to lounge on the freshly cut grass and see the Ebo-Cuban band play in the Joe Serna Sr. Plaza. The weather was perfect and all types of people: students, men in business suits, elderly women and a small class of children were all dancing and basking in the glorious sunlight. It was a wonderful experience and I would have never had it if I didn’t wake up and realize that there is more to life than work and school.