It’s 8:30 on a Monday morning and my alarm is screaming at me, forcing me to get out of bed and groggily start my day. After fumbling to find my glasses and attempting to recall what day it is, not to mention what I have to do, I plop down at my desk.
No matter what day it is, I do the same thing every morning: check Facebook first (oh my gosh! They’re dating!?), e-mail second (shoot, no cancelled classes or freak snow storms) and glance to see who’s doing what on AIM. I have to get my fill of information first thing in the morning, or my day just isn’t complete. And of course, I repeat this routine numerous times throughout the day. I can defiantly say that I’m a creature of habit and the Internet is just the beginning of it. I am probably one of the worst victims of “exploding room” syndrome.
In other words, no matter what I do, my room is constantly a disaster. I will clean it one day (or as close to clean as an hour will get me), my roommate will take a picture to document this historic event and the next morning the floor will be scattered with dirty laundry, books, papers, bags and basically anything you can imagine. I just can’t fathom how some people can clean their room and it stays that way for any length of time.
I also tend to collect completely random things, which has grown into another unusual habit of mine.
Let’s discuss my new pal “Tommy.” Last year, after one weekend at home, I brought back a bunch of food to add to my two constantly full cupboards of food (another habit – stocking my shelves but never eating any of it). However, one item seemed to make a home on my bedroom floor: a jar of pickle spears. Every so often I would look at them and say “I really should take those downstairs to the kitchen.”
But no. My lazy nature takes over and I would then forget about them. One day, my jar of pickles somehow found its way onto a new shelf I had bought and it was evident: the pickles had to stay. I even named them Tommy (ha ha” Tommy Pickles” anyways).
When walking across campus, the habitual acts of students are very apparent. It seems as if there are two significant habits that all students are guilty of at one point or another: one, listening to an mp3 player while walking to or from class; and two, constantly talking or texting on their phones (and I’m not going to deny that I am just as guilty as everyone else).
We give off the impression that without these two pieces of technology, our days will not be the same, throwing us off track. Just think: when was the last time you spent a day on campus without your cell phone? Did you feel as if you were disconnected from everyone else? I will even admit to going as far to think, “How did people survive without cell phones?”
Habits can come in all different forms, from a messy room to the types of food you may eat and even the way you end your day. Each person has at least a habit or routine they tend to stick to.
One good habit that students can stick to while on campus or at school is to eat healthily. Wendy’s, pizza and french fries are not exactly healthy for you, yet it is okay to eat it on occasion rather than habitually. Another good habit is to attend class on a constant basis. It is very easy to make the decision to “take a day off” every once in a while, however it should not occur as frequently as we may wish.
So sit down, think about what you may consider to be a habit both good and bad, and determine how it affects you on an everyday basis. You may be surprised.
