I am always doing something. During bonus I am meeting with a teacher. During lunch I am in a club. Before school I am preparing for a test. After school I am meeting with a college counselor, and when I have free time, I am doing homework. Like I said before, I am always doing something.

A few nights ago, sitting at my desk with more to do than I could wrap my head around, I wondered why I put myself through so much stress. Why can I not just sit at bonus, do absolutely nothing, and just relax?

Well, after days of reflective thought, I think I figured it out. 5 out of 7 days in the week I am at school for a minimum of 7 hours. That is at least 35 hours a week. 35 hours when I could be going to the gym, swimming in the ocean at the beach, hiking to the Hollywood sign, spending time with my family, or even organizing my perpetually messy room. So, if so much of my life is going to be dedicated to going to school, I feel like I need to make it worth it.

This mentality, right or wrong, is why I am always doing something. It also is why I get stressed easily and am often overwhelmed. However, I have noticed that I am not alone in this. In fact, this mentality is prevalent among Americans.

America cultivates a culture of ambition. People originally came to America, and still come to America, to live the American dream. They search for the promised opportunity. However, in present day, what really is the American dream? Americans hold ambition to work hard. Ambition to make money to provide for oneself and one’s family.

Money. Is the American dream to make money? In America, if you don’t have a job and don’t have health insurance, you will live in fear of the future. You will be risking the future of the life you live. That being said, if you are working a job that you despise so that you can have a “good life,” are you truly living a good life?

We Americans break our necks to be doing something worthwhile. We may do this because we want to feel like we are being productive, and we may be doing this in order to create a good life, in which money is not a concern, for our kids. That being said, if a parent is working hard at all times and is never home, are their kids really benefiting?

The same thing goes for me, and other students like me. If I am always doing but never sitting with my friends at lunch because I am busy, am I really benefiting by missing out on bonding time that I will never get back?

My friends and I are all parting soon. I will never get those lunches back. Just like a parent will never get back those nights, reading bedtime stories to their kids,and listening to them laugh.

This all being said, in all honesty, I can tell you that I will not stop meeting with teachers at bonus, or going to clubs at lunch. I will not stop occupying my school day with things I need to do. I will continue to fill my day with things that make me feel productive. However, what I can tell you is that I will stop searching out things to occupy myself with. I will eat lunch with my friends when I can, because that is being productive.

At school, our brains are on go at all times. As students we are expected to pay attention in every class, take notes without being distracted, and retain all the information we learned. Then, when we go home, we are expected to do more homework in order to really soak in all the material we spent 7 hours learning during the day. Our brains need a break. Sitting and eating lunch with our friends is that break. It allows us to breathe, setting ourselves up to be more productive throughout the rest of the day.

But then, this makes me think, we shouldn’t have to have a practical reason for socializing. Life isn’t all about the end game. In our pursuit of success, or just to meet the demands of the day, we forget about the quality of life. We have all been blessed with this gift of life, and we often forget the impact of this gift.

We get so caught up in the good and the bad that this gift brings that we neglect to look at the gift in its entirety. Yes, life comes with stresses and lots of work. However, life is life. It is our job to make it what we want in order to successfully live the American dream.