Say yes

This isn’t going to be original. I’d like to preface that before I start. It’s not a hot take, and it’s not something reply guys will argue about. It’s about saying yes. In the case of the class of 2021, this is likely — if all goes well — our last semester here at Notre Dame. I’ve found myself being (barf) sentimental. I look around at my friends and want to hug them, for god’s sake! I plan gatherings dedicated to how much I love them. So yes, I’ve changed. And I’m here to tell you it’s for the best, and that you should start saying yes more this semester.

All of my close friends know I prefer to be laying in bed at all times. I don’t think I’ve made the extent of that clear, though. Before this semester, literally anytime I am out anywhere, I would rather be in bed. That’s really not much of an exaggeration. However, I want to be clear it’s not because I want to sleep. It’s because I am lazy and want to literally just lay in bed and do nothing. I cannot wait to get home at all times and just sit down. I don’t understand why people insist on going out places when they have a perfectly good home to sit around in. I could write sonnets about the joy of laying down and doing literally nothing in my own home. 

I made it my goal this semester to get rid of this tragic and crippling affliction. With jobs secured and goals checked, I found myself with only one thing on my to-do list for this last semester — have fun.

So I’ve started saying yes to things I know I would never have said yes to before. In past years, if multiple people asked me to do something in one day … forget about it. I could only be counted on for one event a day, if that! Sometimes I would do one thing with people every couple days because I needed time off, and yes, it’s because I’m old and tired. But I think everyone can relate to taking advantage of their last few months here at college.

Because I love sabotaging myself, I didn’t realize you could only do things that made you happy. I orchestrated a situation for myself this semester that involved a couple things I knew would cause me to dread waking up in the morning until I realized — literally, why? This is our last time to be relatively responsibility free, so why would I involve myself in some things that could jeopardize an otherwise amazing semester? I hate to say this because it will ruin my angsty brand, but I want to choose being happy. Gosh, please kill me. But obviously I’m still going to enjoy laying around and taking time off from life from time to time.

Anyway, once I realized I had the potential to actually be happy, I quit the things I knew I would dread. I love my classes, my friends and my work at The Observer, so why would I involve an otherwise full and happy life with things that would bring me down? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer in the real world. But I think this might be the last time we are able to hover outside that real world bubble, and in times like these, I’m going to take full advantage of it. So when my friends ask me to do something? I’m going to say yes. Booked days? I’m going to enjoy it. Fellow lovers of laying around, let’s take this semester and pretend we are young at heart.

And to my bed — don’t worry sweetie, I’ll always come back to you.