Christopher Charleston/The Cougar
“Carpe Diem… Seize the day,” said Robin Williams.”Gather ye rosebuds while ye may- because believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is going to stop breathing, turn cold and die.”
Those words of wisdom were spoken by the late Williams in the film the “Dead Poets Society.” More important than the words themselves, are the mixture of feelings they stir up in listeners.
For some, the feeling is anxiety, depression For others? Inspiration. Unfortunately, a lot of students don’t feel these positive feelings. Students shouldn’t be feeling like this, and in order to change that, they need to seize the day.
This idea of Carpe Diem recognizes the fleetingness of life, and beckons those who live it to make their time worthwhile. Only 17 percent of undergraduate university students feel that their lives are worthwhile, according to The Independent.
On top of that, less than 17 percent say that they are happy with their lives at all. Surveys taken by The Independent show that these numbers are moving in an unfavorable direction every year.
Shouldn’t college students, the future generation who’s in their prime, feel the most optimistic? With everything to gain and nothing to lose, students seem to have lost touch with the idea that the possibilities are endless. That each and every one of them holds the potential to break bounds, shatter records and write their own incredible stories.
Why do students feel that their present lives aren’t worthwhile?
For some students, this feeling derives from the fact that they’ve traded fun for a successful future. This of course is very responsible. But the nitty gritty long haul of being a successful college student can be exhausting, mentally and physically.
There comes a time when the waves of a mind-numbing routine will force students to ask themselves: do they like where this is going?
In a society that tends to avoid discomfort, there is a possibility, or rather a likelihood, that students have become uncomfortable. Perhaps this is even worse than discomfort. Perhaps its complacency or numbness.
It might not be easy but stepping out of comfort zones never is. It’s time for students to ask themselves what it is that’s standing between them and feeling worthwhile.
Students need to understand that it’s ok to go with the flow, but it’s also ok to question the flow. This might bring about the realization they aren’t doing what they truly want to do with their lives.
As an individual continues to suppress the sound of their own voice to replace it with the sound of their parents, their friends or anyone but themselves, they run the risk of forgetting what they sound like.
It’s time. Time to turn these statistics around, time to get out of that rut before waking up one morning awakens the realization that they hate their job.
Student should go digging in the garden of their mind for the root of this feeling,this numbness standing in between who they are and who they’ve become. It’s possible that that root may be giving life to a tree that blocks the sun.
It’s all been heard before, there’s time for work and time for play. Time for hunkering down and time for going out on the town. This race isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Let’s not be delusional, life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but when there is sunshine and rainbows.
Carpe Diem. Find your happiness.
Angela Jardina is an English creative writing freshman who can be reached at [email protected].
