Teen Morning Zombie Syndrome
For those of us with early-morning engagements, it's easy to sympathize with the struggle of waking up at an ungodly hour to accomplish some task or other and then spend the rest of the day in a blur. One friend of mine had this challenge earlier this week. Determined to be on time to her near pre-dawn appointment, my friend carefully backed up her car--right into the garage door (thankfully, she was safe, though the garage was a tiny bit less fortunate). While I would have spent the rest of the day in hysterics had this happened to me (as I'm sure many of us would), this early-bird driver exhibitied a calm and cool that is admirable and ADVISABLE at this crazy time of year.
Keep Your Eye on the Ball
Another friend has been (along with the rest of us) feeling the stress and pressure about Early Action and Early Decision that have run rampant this week. My friend took advantage of every moment possible to edit and perfect her college essays. This resulted in two weeks of just four hours of beauty sleep a night. I don't know how she's done it. Her eyes, however, seem to protest her recent shut-eye deficiency, despite the high quality of her essays; one of them has become irritated from a lack of sleep and tries to swell itself closed. While my friend certainly went above and beyond the normal requirements that we demand from our bodies, the passing of this deadline has come as definite relief. So don't worry--EVERYONE is stressed! It's hard on all of us.
Cry Baby
Some people rudely insist that crying is only for babies. I beg to differ. This week, my genetic biology class had planned to perform a blood-typing lab. While I was assured multiple times that this activity is nearly a rite of passage for bio students, my panic could not be held at bay. My fear of blood, you see, is the one and only great reason why I cannot be a traditional doctor--I would, without a doubt, send my patients away if they were bleeding (hence my focus in GENETICS, which I actually love). So, in preparation for the blood-typing lab, I made sure to drink extra water in the 24 hours before the class. I probably consumed two times the average amount of water people drink in a day in just four hours. Then, I read through the lab instructions, and caught onto the word "lancet". I naturally Googled "lancet," searching for images to prove that the process would, indeed, be painful and bloody. My visual findings only troubled me more. I only calmed down after a friend sent me a link of pictures of baby penguins. Note to self/reader: BABY PENGUINS ARE INTENSELY RELAXING AND THERAPEUTIC.
So, the next day, I went to class, and in preparation for the lab, our teacher proceeded to detail the bloody, disgusting history of blood transfusion, blood poisoning, infection, and surgery in America, beginning with the repulsive medical practices of the civil war. Properly prepared (with my new knowledge of amputation and fatal blood transfusions) for our lab, I squirmed in my chair in an attempt to not break into a nervous sweat and to slow my heart's rapid beating. I also tried not to think about why I was wearing blue ( I'd had to reject the first four outfits I'd picked out that morning because they were all red---which is the color of blood. Plus, blue is supposed to be relaxing and helpful for rational thinking). Then, my teacher prefaced the demonstration of drawing blood with a short tale of two girls who were blood-typing partners several years ago. Apparently, one was unhappy with the other and stabbed her "friend's" finger with the lancet so hard that her blood "oil-spurted". EW. Thanks to those two, nowadays, only the teacher or the student can stab their finger.
On that cheery note, my teacher demonstrated the entire process. I only winced slightly, and barely felt the urge to cry. Until he fully embraced the spirit of Halloween and more or less attacked his finger as if his blood were delicious. Between the stress, nerves, horror, and dread, I burst immediately into tears. In class. At least I was sitting in the front row.
A few sniffles and comforting pats on the back later, I'd calmed down enough to have him prick my finger--only to literally have to squeeze a tiny drop of blood out the way that you squeeze out toothpaste when the tube is nearly empty.
Unfortunately, I was able to get so little blood out that my blood type is still unclear :(
Moral of this story: please do not try to dread things. Something is only as bad as you give it the potential to be, so why not give it potential to be as good as possible?
Lunch Date
Another friend embraced the chaos of the week with her signature "go for it!" style. After carefully planning a lunch date at the Pancake House with a group of friends who were on fall break, she attended the lunch, only to suffer from the Pancake House's chronic problem: a slowness in actually making the food... So, my friend was 50 minutes tardy for her first class after lunch (which translated to not being able to attend at all)--probably in exchange for what I imagine was a delicious stack of pancakes with friends. While missing class might in actuality not make school itself easier, we need to remember to take things as they come, and to try to enjoy them!
In short: we've all had crazy, stressful weeks. Did you have a mini breakdown? Did you forget to show up to school or work? Did you catch yourself trying to put orange juice in your cereal and milk in a cup (instead of the other way around)? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions--or if you posed a similar question in your mind to which you would answer in the affirmative-- I want you to remind yourself that the week is over. Remember that the next one, by definition, MUST be better if this one was so difficult! And, finally, remember this: it is now the weekend! And you are entitled to a decent dose of pampering, snuggling, sleeping, cuddling, etc.
And here's a baby penguin to help you relax!
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