The Spectrum: The middle ground can be difficult to achieve

This past week, Indians across the world celebrated Deepavali, which is a festival signifying the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. While having a traditional dinner with my roommates and a few friends, we joked about how this was our first social interaction unburdened by the stress of work since the semester began. Though said in jest, the realization that our lives were rather imbalanced struck an uncomfortable chord.

For the most part, moderation has seen a great downfall in our everyday lives in the last few years. For instance, in politics, many are quick to judge centrists for not “picking a side,” implying the lack of unwavering allegiance to either the Democratic or Republican Party. In sports, lately it seems that it’s not enough to show your support for one team or player; you must also actively root against the team’s or player’s biggest rival. A Warriors fan who also appreciates the talent in the Cavaliers is labeled a “bandwagoner.” But perhaps the biggest destruction of the middle ground has occurred in our personal lives.

As college students, we have a spectrum of responsibilities. Unfortunately, we are plagued by the theory that we can’t have every “S” in the triangle of school, sleep and social lives. Consequently, we get caught in a loop of overemphasizing one or two of those aspects, and completely disregarding the remaining parts. I have seen this most often during midterm season, when students — myself included — lock ourselves in our rooms to study, surviving on Red Bull and ready-in-five-minute meals; pull all-nighters to maximize study time, crashing for 12 hours immediately after submitting the exam; and spend the entire weekend hanging out with friends until the sun rises. In this model, the entire emphasis is first placed on school, then sleep, then social lives.

A common counterargument to this imbalance theory is what I have coined the Make-Up phenomenon. I have interacted with several friends who will pull an all-nighter before a big exam, and justify this decision by planning for a 12-hour nap immediately after finishing the test. In this way, they claim, they are striking every part of the triangle. But moderation should be a daily implementation, not a weekly compromise. By arguing that our day-to-day activities eventually balance out by the end of the week, we are failing to address the toll those extremes take on us at the end of each day.

In order to eliminate this issue, it is essential to introduce equal amounts of each “S” into our schedules every day. And to do this, we must find the moderation within each of those categories. Social interaction doesn’t have to mean going to the Row or partying all weekend; it can be as simple as setting aside the Easy Mac to have a simple potluck dinner with a few friends. An academic emphasis doesn’t have to involve all-nighters the weekend before the exam; it can, and should, be broken down into smaller study sessions and spread out across the week. By simplifying each category, it is no longer stressful or difficult to incorporate a healthy balance into our lives each day. Ultimately, students who ace their classes with sufficient sleep and healthy amounts of social interaction should be role models.

As college students, we have a multitude of responsibilities and commitments that each take a significant toll on us. As a result, finding the middle ground in that spectrum is more important than ever. The Festival of Lights indeed enlightened me about the balance I hope both I and many other students at USC can implement into our schedules moving forward.  

Nithya Rajeev is a sophomore majoring in human biology. Her column,“The Spectrum,” runs every other Monday.