By Brecken Mumford | Echo
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty thankful for fall break last week. I spent fall break at home in Novi, Mich., which was an unexpected shift in my original plan for this year, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity I had to see my family.
When I decided to go home, I thought I would spend time outside with my not-so-little, little brothers - take them hiking or hammocking or just explore some local parks. Well, it rained almost the entire time, which I was not prepared for, and my brothers didn't really want to be outside in the constant drizzle either. So, instead, I went to a bookstore, ran errands with my mom, watched movies, avoided my homework and I read - for fun.
Reading for fun? Does anyone really have time for that anymore? No, probably not. But I'm so glad I did, 
because I realized it was exactly what I needed. I needed to slow down from the craziness that built up from the beginning of the year; I needed to distance myself from people, work and the busyness of school. I needed to remind myself of things I love and spend time doing them.
I can hear your thoughts now, "Oh gosh, another 'busy' article . . . here we go." Yeah, that's right another one. No shame.
School, specifically college, has this terrible habit of taking all that you love and hold dear and enjoy and crushing it into something you barely recognize and have no energy for. Reading? No thanks, I just had to read 90 pages on critical literature theories. Playing the piano? Pass - I just spent the last five hours practicing for juries. Taking pictures? Nope, I was in the dark room until 3 a.m. trying to prep for my latest project.
Sound familiar? Yeah, same here, and I hate that. I hate being consumed with work, and responsibilities and a general buzz that I run myself into the ground, where I feel like when I have free time, all I can do is mindlessly sit on the couch or nap. Living weekend to weekend, holding on until the next break - it's exhausting, and (this is tacky, so brace yourself) it's not living.
Don't get me wrong - there's always room for a bit of mindlessness, a movie with friends or cramming in an episode of "The Great British Baking Show" - but aren't you tired of the back and forth of school work to binge-watching Netflix and back again? Because I am.
Fall break forced me to slow down and really look back at the insanity of the semester. I realized I was so focused on doing everything on my "to-do" list, and then "relaxing" with Netflix, that I really neglected so many other things in my life - things I love and enjoy - things like writing and reading for fun, going on bike rides, sitting in my hammock. For goodness sake, I have a camera I haven't touched since this summer, and it is heartbreaking to think about it just sitting there on my shelf. I've wanted to bring it out so many times, but then I realized something.
I have been so busy doing things that I haven't really done anything.
We have a tendency to throw ourselves in a vicious cycle of work, Netflix, work, class, Netflix, class, event, class, event, event, work. We inadvertently trap ourselves to campus and our wings/floors, our halls, our buildings, and we get so very stuck. I get stuck - all the time. Don't get me wrong, we are busy; we have responsibilities we have to work on and we need space to recharge and simply rest, but there has to be more. There is more.
A couple weekends ago, I left campus for one of the first times since getting to school, and it was only to Dan's Variety Bakery in Kokomo. I was shocked at how free and refreshed I felt simply getting off campus with a couple of friends. It felt like freedom from the cycle I perpetuated, and I wanted to drive on for forever.
But I couldn't, so I came back to campus and let the pressure of projects, papers and people creep into my mind and create a busyness that wasn't fully there. Now, after fall break though, I'm ready to start the work of making time for the things and people I love and enjoy.
I'm ready to fight for time to go to The Bridge with my roommate - even if it's to do homework; I'm ready to fight for time to read for fun instead of watching another episode of "New Girl"; I'm ready to fight for time to sit in my hammock, spending quality time with my friends; I'm ready to fight for time to pull my camera out and capture memories I'm actually making.
Are you?
