are you really happy?
A few evenings ago, I was interviewed by a fellow Berkeley student. The interview was for a business club (which I was once upon a time rejected from)- ironic, huh?
I hopped on the Zoom call, and the boy started by introducing himself. He seemed like the very stereotypical business oriented, high achieving student I used to be surrounded by at Berkeley. However, it’s been a while since I’ve physically been on my college campus, and even longer since I’ve been in contact with someone like that. The closest I get to business students in NYC are deranged frat boys turned finance bros.
After he introduced himself, I (out of curiosity) asked him what other clubs he was involved in.
The boy chuckled and said that there are so many clubs that he couldn’t list them without pulling up his LinkedIn. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t.
He then proceeded pull up his LinkedIn and listed off 7-8 clubs that I’ve never heard of. A bit stunned, my instinctual reaction was to ask: “Do you actually enjoy all of them?” To which he responded: “No not really haha, I just have to keep my resume stacked up. In between all these clubs, I basically don’t even do school anymore.”
That sort of energy is pretty common at school, but I forgot what it felt like. Throughout the rest of the interview, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. The one question that kept replaying in my mind was: “If this boy dropped dead right here and right now, would he be content with the life that he’s lived so far?” (kinda morbid, but being frank here).
When I think about my life, especially now, it’s a constant back to back. A busy school life compiled with an even busier work life. I barely get a moment to stop and breathe. But I genuinely enjoy every second of every day, and my heart has never been happier. I get to do all the things that I love on a daily basis and so I don’t really mind that my days are packed. If anything, my life in New York so far has been (knock on wood) the most non-toxic and greatest learning experience of my life so far.
So if we’re out here comparing apples, I could argue that this boy and I are pretty level on our time commitments outside of school. However, the key difference between my one full time job and his 8 clubs is that the one singular thing I’m doing right now, I’m doing with more conviction, love, and curiosity than all 8 of those clubs combined. And so yeah, not to be morbid, but I realized that if I dropped dead, right here right now, I would be content with the life I’ve lived so far. I’ve made 20 (almost 21) years alive worth every damn second.
Take it from a girl that’s done the entire perfect suburban high school poster child routine from NHS President to Student Council Treasurer to tennis team captain- there’s more to life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s dumb to be involved, but I’m saying it’s dumb to spend your precious time doing something unenjoyable. (Yes, your time is precious) And sometimes I think we humans forget that easily.
Life is too short to not constantly be constantly doing something that you love. And I promise you, I’m not oversimplifying things. Because when you really think about it, you’re 1 single tiny human on a planet with 7,800,000,000 people. And this planet is 36 million times smaller than the universe that its part of.
My point being- are you really tryna live your entire life striving to impress others with your credentials or caring about what other people think of you? At the end of the day, who is it really gonna matter to?
So yeah, if you dropped dead right here right now, would you be content with the life you’ve lived? Are you really happy?
There’s only one right answer for those questions, and if you’re answer isn’t an instant “yes”- here’s your sign to make a few changes.
