The last week of Winter Quarter brings an onslaught of students to the library scrambling to find internships and study for exams. Many of them will spend this weekend dancing for DM.
Personally, I have been awake for the past 48 hours and just wiped out on ice, spilling what would have been my sixth cup of coffee. “Are you okay?” a fellow Minorities in Business member had asked when he heard me cry out. But I hadn’t even stopped to consider whether I was alright. I had continued with our phone call with a stain and limp. If he hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have noticed the bruise until after my last final.
From my observation, we abuse our bodies all week, telling ourselves that sleep deprivation and over-caffeination are worth tomorrow’s success. We then proceed to counter our nerdiness and reward ourselves for a week well done by engaging in risky behavior. Work hard, play hard – right?
We all know that Northwestern students are overcommitted with academics, leadership roles and a semblance of a social life. But between the Red Bulls chugged in the morning and Red Bull vodkas downed while out, do we devote enough time to taking care of ourselves?
Having transferred to NU, I had trouble understanding and adjusting to the competitive atmosphere. After all, there are few things more frustrating than working extra hard to be the best at everything, and then to end up just an average NU student.
We are frequently accused of doing activities for our résumés. Though there are exceptions, this accusation is justified. Watching my peers impressively sprint for four years straight, I sometimes wonder whether employers actually care about the intensity of their engagements. It is one thing to be a hard worker and leader, but another to demonstrate those characteristics to the extent to which we sacrifice our well-being. I became aware that my habits may be an issue during an interview yesterday when I was asked, “What do you do for fun? Life and work balance are important to us.” I listed three clubs, realized that they were work, panicked and then made up an answer.
Even NU fun tends to be overly ambitious. “I can drink more than you,” is a phrase that I’ve heard more than once on campus. Truthfully, I don’t view the student who can fill a sink with vomit and then crawl back to the keg as a winner. Nor do I see any merit in being one of the students who helped fill the Emergency Room on Dillo Day. Our harmful habits scare me. Even if sleep deprivation, stress and binge drinking don’t destroy us today, they do have long-term consequences.
The bottom line is that if we keep treating our bodies this way, we will suffer from a barrage of problems and will not enjoy optimal health later in life. But, take heart fellow NU students. We’ll likely be making enough money by the time we hit 35 to get respirators installed in our Mercedes.
Communication junior Nausheen Shaikh can be reached [email protected]
