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opinion
FREE-FOR-ALL
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FROM YOU
KANSAN.COM/OPINION | MONDAY, NOV. 28, 2016
Realizing you don't have to set an alarm is one of the most liberating things a person can do without risking jail time.
I feel like girth is just a measurement
Keep your mundane minute-by-minute travel updates coming. I relish in them.
i feel like all my teachers are trying to make me regret going to class today
WWHGD? (What would Hermione Granger Do?)
I'm pretty sure my brain got up and left sometime yesterday afternoon
In preparation for Thanksgiving I've been practicing my "I disagree with you but my mom told me not to start a fight" laugh.
This semester: I'm over it
Props to Fidel Castro for dying before inevitably having to meet Trump.
In the wake of the election, we've lost sight of 2016's greatest tragedy: The Killers' Christmas album.
saying a prayer for everyone who has to go home to trump supporters for the holidays
It's hard to be thankful with finals breathing down my neck
Self-driving cars will make the drive home for Thanksgiving sooo much better
I feel like even the original version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" was a cover
Thank goodness it isn't swimsuit season.
And here comes the 10,000 radio repeats of "Santa Baby" and "Last Christmas"
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Illustration by Gracie Williams
Sanchez: Follow passions over obligations
▶ SANDRA SANCHEZ
@sssanchez26
love learning. I've always placed academia above everything else because it seems like my only talent. I can't sing, I can't dance, I don't play sports and I lack many other skills. School has always been natural for me, and I enjoy learning more than just about anything else.
But there's just one problem: I have the nastiest case of procrastination there ever was.
Without deadlines, I am useless. I can count on a single hand the number
of essays I've written more than 48 hours before they were due, I will do homework hours before class and I don't study nearly as often as I should. But this semester, as with every semester before, I'm taking 20 hours of courses. I have three majors and one minor, a student job on campus and a handful of extracurricular activities to distract me from writing my history honors thesis. Most days, I don't return from campus before 9 p.m.
Given my tendency for procrastination, I fear that without the stress of my workload I would simply fall prey to my laziest habits, and any semblance of productivity would be doomed. I am convinced I slack off too much already and need to force myself by way of a ruthless schedule to work hard. I've survived two years doing so, thus, I'll be fine for the next two.
I will never know enough, so I should always be trying to learn new things. If I am not working as much as I can, pushing myself to take as many classes as I can and doing as many activities as possible, I am being lazy.
As college students, we often have outside pressure to push us toward goals. But, of course, the most pressure comes from our own standards and how we perceive ourselves in relation to others. After all, if you can do something to stand out—like take 20 hours every semester—why shouldn't you?
I started to doubt myself this semester. I am no longer happy in school like I once was, and I have concluded that it is because I have subscribed to this compelling philosophy for too long. What was once enjoyable has now become a chore.
Right?
If it doesn't make you
happy, don't do it.
In this, I've finally realized my problem. There is no one pushing me or pulling me from this lifestyle, rather it is the absurd notion that I have a duty to live the most productive life I can. But we have no moral responsibility to our potentials. I used to be a competitive swimmer and my best stroke was butterfly, so my coach would put me in all the races because I could do it. I hated butterfly and hated competing in those races. But I would do it, because it was what I thought I should do.
But we have no moral responsibility to our potentials."
became an obligation. However, I think if I step back and redefine my priorities - to that which makes me happy and what creates true pleasure in my life - I can love what I do again.
I've lost my love for what was once a passion because it
It is too often that success is falsely equated to skill and ability, not happiness. But we create meaning in our lives because life is confusing and singularly unique to all of us. We should be able to choose what we want to succeed at.
Life is exactly what you make it, so we should remember that we can live as happily as we want to. No one can tell you otherwise.
Sandra Sanchez is a junior studying history, Chinese, and global & international studies.
- Edited by Ilana Karp
Liston: Quitting smoking must be personal
RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
In his car, in his house and on his clothes: everything my dad owned reeked of cigarette smoke. His teeth were yellow, and he coughed regularly. This was my father when I was younger. Now, he does not smoke at all, and he told me how he finally quit.
Recently, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department launched the "Freedom From Smoking" program to
incentivize parents to quit smoking by giving them $85 worth of items of their choosing. Parents can either complete an online course or fill out a self-guided workbook (enrollment for a face-to-face class closed on Nov. 16). Additionally, the University plans to be tobacco-free by the fall semester of 2018.
While these steps are helpful, quitting smoking ultimately has to be a personal decision. As a former smoker and a current cardiologist, my father gave me some tips he shares with his patients when they are looking to stop smoking.
When you start on the path to stop smoking,you may be tempted to share the news with those around you. Doing this,however,may lead to people constantly reminding you about the habit
that you are trying to quit, even if those people are simply trying to encourage you. These reminders keep the temptation present in your mind. Also, if you relapse, which is highly common among people trying to quit, talking to people about your addiction may make you feel guilty and ashamed.
talking to people about your addiction may make you feel guilty and ashamed."
Picture a mental scale weighing the pros and cons of smoking. You may find that the pleasure you get from smoking is outweighed
by what you do not like about it, such as the smell, higher anxiety or the cost of cigarettes. For my father, the scale was tipped when he saw my sister cry after she found him with a cigarette.
One of the best ways to avoid smoking is to keep yourself busy. When you focus on other tasks, your mind may focus less on the nicotine cravings. Since my father smoked in the car, he began cutting his drives home from work shorter, so he could get home and busy himself with some other activity.
Snapping a rubber band on your wrist can also be an effective mechanism in helping you quit smoking, since it can both associate pain with those cravings and help you recognize patterns in your smoking behavior. By realizing what times of day you
Although the new "Freedom From Smoking" program and the 2018 campus-wide tobacco ban may help some people quit smoking and prevent others from beginning, no one but the individual can truly commit to stop smoking. We must be supportive of those around us who are trying to quit without becoming overbearing. For those 'of you who want to quit: it may take time, and you may relapse, but you can do it.
crave cigarettes most, you can specifically target and work on these trouble areas.
Ryan Liston is a sophomore from Lawrence studying journalism and political science.
- Edited by Cody Schmitz
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