OyChicago blog

I realized something the other day: I cannot remember the last time I felt bored.

It’s often said that “only boring people get bored.” Maybe that’s true, but maybe not. Quite possibly, being bored has nothing to do with being boring and everything to do with being busy. Whatever the case may be, I haven’t felt bored and I’ve most certainly felt busy, personally, professionally and mentally for quite some time now.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be busy. I was never really a “me time” person. Although most people who know me would’ve (hopefully) never really noticed that I yearned to constantly be occupied, I felt uneasy when certain things were unplanned and if I didn’t have something to look forward to each week.

Now, some of the things I look forward to the most are the nights where I can take a break, turn off my computer, relax on my couch, and decompress. If you would’ve told me a year ago that I would be thrilled to spend a Saturday night on my couch watching the Bulls and eating Pad Thai straight from the container, I would’ve told you that you’re losing it. However, nowadays, few things sound that ideal, which is most definitely part of growing up.

Weekends are essential for me now, but not in the way they used to be. Gone are the days of going out every night and getting minimal sleep only to binge on caffeine in order to get through the next week. Of course, I am still binging on caffeine, but now it’s more so because of insomnia and an inability to sleep in. Oh, “adulthood” … My free time is now so much more important because it’s much needed time to regroup and revamp.

I sat on my couch for a few minutes before starting to write this as I thought about my to-do list when all I really wanted to do was close my eyes and take a nap. My upcoming responsibilities ranged from urgent matters to trivial things and projects that should’ve been done months ago, but were somehow put on the back burner:

1. Write this post

2. Wash my hair

3. Clean the bathroom

4. Put away my laundry

5. Finish the things I didn’t finish at the office today

6.  Make a birthday picstitch

7. Actually go grocery shopping

8. Actually cook things with the food that I purchase

9. Call my friends who I owe a call 

10. Hang up the pictures that have been sitting on my window sill for almost two years

11. Build my shelf

12. Clean the kitchen

13. Sort the mail

14. Grade papers

15. Paint my nails

16. Stop making a to do list and actually write this post

Go ahead and laugh because the things I have to do aren’t actual responsibilities in the grand scheme of things. Sure, they are all important in some sense, but they are also such “20-something problems.” It’s not like I have to raise a child or buy a house or even cook anyone dinner (besides myself). I truly just need to do the day-to-day things to take care of myself and somehow it’s more exhausting than anyone would ever think.

So, as I string together a bunch of jumbled thoughts while snuggled under a cozy blanket on a winter night in Chicago, I can assure you of a few things: there’s always something you can be doing, never a reason to be bored, yet always a reason to give yourself some must needed rest and relaxation. Some things can wait until tomorrow. I know I often need to take my own advice, but at least I now have checked one thing off my to-do list.