I was in my living room on a Saturday afternoon, blanketed and sprawled out on the couch enjoying a Walking Dead marathon, when a friend came in. For a couple minutes he insulted me about how lazy I appeared, but soon he assumed the same position. Being raised with an attempt at Southern etiquette, I felt compelled to offer him all the goods I had. So I offered him a blanket. He responded: “Nah man, I’m cutting back on blankets.”
What? What does that even mean? How does someone cut back on blankets? I’ve heard of people cutting back on calories, their BAC , even on homework, but never have I ever heard of anyone cutting back on blankets. Thinking he must be joking, I asked him if he was serious — he was.
His rationale, when it came to blankets, was they were an innocent trap. There is nothing inherently dangerous about a blanket, but they can quickly become so. A blanket put on at 11 a.m . on a Saturday will not be taken off until 7 p.m . Its a shame, all you wanted to do was get comfortable and you end up losing the day.
Perhaps some of you are saying to yourself, “Yeah, I never really thought twice about putting on a blanket, but whenever I do, I end up regretting it. Maybe I should cut back on blankets too.” In a short time, you have attained a great insight, which will reap its benefits in the long run.
Don’t kid yourself, though. Apart from blankets, you likely have more areas where you can cut back. All of us have certain tendencies we never think twice about, but end up costing us a lot. Since many aspects of our lives relate to college, it only makes sense to cut back there.
The sayings: “just come out for a drink” or “just come out for an hour” are con artistry at its finest; they are just bold-faced lies. It never ends up like that. We all fall into the same delusions. We tell ourselves: “This night will be different. It has to be. I have a test in the morning.” And then you’re at Cook Out at 3 a.m . inhaling hush puppies by the dozen, for 99 cents per dozen, I can’t judge. All I can ask for you here is to stop lying to yourself. It never turns out to be “just an hour.” Denial isn’t healthy.
On a more academic front, I’ve been cutting back for some time on my involvement in classes and group activities. Through sophomore year, I was your Type-A classmate. Hand always raised, pencil always sharpened and taking the bulk of any group assignments, regardless of the class or my interest in it. I never gave much thought to cutting back, until I began to look around. I looked at everyone forgoing taking notes to Pinterest or sleep. I looked at the grade sheets from group projects — the same grades for everyone. There had to be something to their style. I decided to try it myself. Maybe, I thought, I shouldn’t operate at 100 percent all the time.
I’m all for overachieving in things you really love to do, but those opportunities are far and few between in our degree programs. You don’t need to take every leadership position offered or make everything perfect, you’ll stretch yourself too thin. When it comes to school, it’s ok to take easy classes easy — that’s why they’re called easy classes. There’s no reason to go hard on something meant to be easy; that’s how you tire yourself out. So stop feeling so guilty for adjusting your fantasy basketball line-up in English, its ok.
Of course, what I’ve outlined only touches on a few areas where you can make cuts. But as you look about your life and look for ways to make cuts you might ask yourself what to do with all your savings. Don’t look to me, I don’t know. My best advice is to go use the time and energy you save on something else, something you enjoy. Who knows, if you trim enough fat, you just might not have to cut back on blankets after all. That’s all I’m aiming for.
