In our high paced society, I feel that life always seems to be a big pile of work. People always seem to be doing something without a minute to spare. From a businessman talking on his cell phone about the latest stock market fiasco, to an adolescent girl staying up past midnight incessantly searching the web for the latest celebrity gossip, the need for constant movement and the relentless need to be doing something have been incorporated into American ideals.
For me, the importance of dynamic work ethics has always been associated with adulthood. Yet, throughout my education, school has taught me that the only way to succeed is to work hard. The concept seemed simple: work until you’re done. However, being a high school junior faced with an eight hour school day, and faced with additional hours of studying for tests, conjugating Spanish verbs, and memorizing the role of enterokinase in the digestive system, it has been important for me to understand that this constant drive for success needs to be balanced with relaxation and time to escape the chaos—that is, work. While proper work ethics are important to my high school career, constant work can become unbearable.
I believe in devoting a portion of my day—if only 15 minutes—to lie down, take a nap, and leave my stress aside.
Everyday, after I get home from school, but before I start on schoolwork, I jump on my couch, switch my ipod to the ‘after school play list,’ pensively consisting of Dave Matthews and Coldplay, and maneuver myself into the optimum position—my knees huddled into my chest, my body rolled onto its side while my head is rested delicately on two perfectly fluffed pillows—and nap. My after-school nap allows me to become aloof from my consistent work-mode. I consider a nap to be a significant pleasure that is often neglected by most of society. Napping allows me the opportunity to escape the thought process of what I could do better, and instead think about nothing at all.
Though hard work is an important aspect of my life, taking naps is an aspect just as important. I believe that by taking fifteen minutes out of my day to nap, without the distractions of cell phones or computers, I can efficiently diverge away from a tedious work mindset, and into one of ease and simplicity.