School is stressful. College life is full of problems, and it can be overwhelming at times. The average Stevens student needs to deal with clubs, organizations, friends, family, work, and more, while maintaining a solid grade point average. On top of that, there’s the job search—a task that seems ominous for anyone who hasn’t found one yet.
So, what’s the best way to deal with this stress? People have a variety of methods; reading, video games, and watching TV are all common ways for students to take a moment to slow down and do something that they enjoy. In many ways, these activities are productive in that they let you rest and recover in order to keep working at a later time.
In Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, the main character Happy struggles against his anger and frustration, which is about to make-or-break his golfing career. At a critical moment, Happy takes a moment to go to his ‘happy place’—a lush garden with his golfing mentor and his Grandma winning at the slot machines. Coming out of this reminiscence, Happy is able to focus on himself and begins playing better, and he eventually wins the championship. It is the act of calming down and remembering what he’s playing for that allows him to play some of the best golf matches in his life.
In a similar manner, students should find their own happy place. When we find ourselves confronted with obstacles, we need to surround ourselves with things that bring us joy. There needs to be a place where we can sit down and rest in whatever way is best for us. Our happy place also serves as a reflection of our current state of mind. ‘A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind’ is a quote we often hear people say; as such, it’s in our best interest to be organized in order to keep our environment organized, and vice versa.
There are several schools of thought on how to improve our physical environment in order to cultivate a better state of mind. The practice of Feng Shui, minimalism, and more all focus on creating a calming and beneficial environment. However, an environment does not necessarily need to be restricted to a physical space. In addition to your room, your happy place could be surrounding yourself with friends and family, or in a coffee shop with someone you haven’t seen in a while. This is reminiscent of another common saying — ‘home is where the heart is.’
Knowing this, it is not only important to keep our physical space organized and clean, but it is also important to surround yourself with people who make you happy and productive. I continue to be impressed by the people that I’ve met and gotten to know during my time at Stevens. And, I can confidently say that my happy place is with the friends I’ve made and with my family back home. There’s nothing quite like a night spent hanging out with friends, and I plan on treasuring my time with them as best as I can. Wherever or whatever it is, we all need to find our happy place.
Senioritis is an Opinion column written by one or two Stevens student(s) in their last year of study to discuss life experiences during their final year at Stevens, and other related subject matter.
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