A change would do you good

Do you ever wake up and think that things just couldn't get any more monotonous?

That the trail of eroded carpet you walk on every day is eventually going to whittle away down to bare floor, leaving you with a plushness of lost possibilities on either side?

This phase has struck me at certain points, inflamed by my teen angst, and I usually end up wondering, "What can I do differently?"

I suppose if you took the average young person and divided their activities into four broad categories, they would most certainly be: sleep, work, eat, party. Then it's wash, brush your teeth, repeat. But do we want to repeat it? Is it something we can picture doing for the rest of our lives? Will we grow weary of our own friends? When do we get to that point where we realize getting drunk for fun is just sad and pathetic?

I once did something almost no one could possibly fathom: I turned off my cell phone for a whole week. Yes, intentionally! To be quite honest, I was tired of being social. It was one meaningless party after another, filled with meaningless people who would simply laugh if one of their own were to vomit and pass out on the floor. I'd had enough of that scene. It was pointless, stupid and disgusting.

My bouts of feeling robotic normally come in surges and last momentarily, like deja vu. The only difference is that, unlike deja vu, I can usually explain why I feel like I'm repeating a similar experience -- because I am.

Sometimes it's the same conversation I've had with the same person, practically verbatim. And it's when this happens that I'm tempted to turn my cell phone off once again.

Everyone I know has gone through some sort of similar phase, but I think it gets worse as you get older, hence the term "mid-life crisis." Luckily for the younger generation, it's not considered a crisis since we're allowed to not know exactly where we want our lives to go.

We all try to satisfy our goals and dreams, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. It's one of my biggest fears to not accomplish what I consider to be great things. Perhaps my every day middle-class rural living is a way of me paying my dues.

I know I'm an extremely fortunate person, but sometimes I just get fed up with the way things are, even if there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way they are going. This may explain my spur-of-the-moment instances in which I thoroughly clean my room. There's nothing wrong with having a dirty room, but it needed a change. I needed a change.

So I guess my point is that if you're feeling like quitting your job, divorcing your spouse or dropping out of school, maybe you should move your furniture around or drive a different route first. A little change can go a long way. Or you can do what I did and put hardwood flooring down in your room. It doesn't wear away as easily as carpet.

Sam DeReign is a student at Southeast Missouri State University. Contact him at sdereign@semissourian.com.