Lately, I’ve been think a lot about Parks and Recreation. Not surprising, considering it’s the best show to ever be on television and season 7 was just released on Netflix. But the quote – “We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn’t matter, but work is third” – has been sticking in my brain recently. I try to use this quote as my life’s mantra because I do honestly believe each of these three things are key to happiness.
FRIENDS – If you don’t like the people around you, what are you doing? I am lucky to have surrounded myself with friends that are great. One of my best friends just came back from studying abroad in England last semester. It’s so nice to have her back. Unfortunately, another friend left for the semester to study abroad in Scotland and it’s been hard to survive computer science without her. But it’s what is best for her considering the amazing study abroad opportunity she has (plus I’ll see her again when I go to San Francisco in May and SnapChat is a great invention for international communication).
WAFFLES – Do I believe waffles will solve all of my problems? Yes. Of course not, but they are delicious. But Waffle House is just five minutes away and always open. It’s always the spot for late night snacks, study breaks, and hang outs. But if you want to get philosophical, I believe the “waffles” are a metaphor for the sweeter, simpler things in life. It just means you need to enjoy the little things in life. These little things could be literally anything. So here is a quick list of things that have made me extremely happy recently –
- Oreos and Dining Hall cookies
- Last night, the dance party study break I took with friends
- Low gas prices
- THE SNOW
- Having two film classes. I literally get a grade for watching movies and writing papers on them. It’s great. Although Ingmar Bergman’s films are extremely strange.
- Naps
- Last semester for class, we read a paper discussing sports and the implementations it has on male masculinity and sexuality. Honestly, my favorite reading from college so far.
WORK – If you don’t love what you’re doing, why are you doing it? Because I need money. Just kidding. I think about this question a lot as I decide what I want to do for a future career. I want to wake up most mornings and think about how I want to go to work (I was going to say everyday, but that’s a little unrealistic. But if you can honestly say that about you’re job, congratulations to you, and also I have some questions about your job). Currently, my next step for a career I want is a summer internship. I’ve started filling out applications and fixing my resume. I made my resume just from Googling basic resumes so it was pretty bland and flawed. This week I took it to the Malone Career Center on campus for them to edit it FOR FREE with no appointment. That is great considering I hate spending money and am not the best with making appointments. They gave extremely helpful tips and I’m ready for any internship.