Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan: Taking a break from the stress-filled bubble of achievement

I'm sitting beside a pool in Austin, Texas, as I write this. The sun is shining, some odd black birds are singing and the tiny waves on the water's surface make a delightfully soothing sound. School seems like a world away.

Between the breaks on this research trip and spring vacation right before it, I'm in a state of total relaxation. But the disturbing side of the situation is that it's taken me two weeks to finally unwind from the pressure cooker that is Penn's atmosphere. I'm sure most Penn students -- being the goal-oriented high-achievers that we are -- can relate.

All in all, Penn is a school full of winners. We want to excel grade-wise, win championships, outperform all the other performers, get enviable jobs right out of school and save the world while we're at it. We're an ambitious group, and that's to be commended. But lately, I've been thinking this breakneck lifestyle could use some revision.

Could we hardworking Quakers be working a little too hard? How many of us forget to pencil a little fun into our appointment books?

It gets worse -- I'm watching senior friends overdose on stress as they desperately search for an answer to the dreaded "So what are you doing next year?" question. They're topping off four long years of strenuous effort with stacks of grad school applications and a parade of job interviews. The catchword is "now": I want the very best my Penn degree can bring me, dammit, and I want it right now.

Let's all take a deep breath and consider: why the rush? Would it really be so terrible to take a little time off? Is it actually necessary to jump into life wound up like a tightly-coiled bedspring?

There are certainly health benefits to relieving our constant stress. Carrying all this bottled-up tension around makes us older than our years -- and it can literally take years off our lives. It brings gray hairs, wrinkles, heart issues and ulcers. It affects our appetites and our sleeping habits. From the typical stress load I've observed from students, I'd say none of us is in tip-top shape.

Perhaps even more importantly, however, is the effect these charged-up lifestyles have on our souls. Sure, opportunity abounds on this campus, and we'd be missing so much if we didn't take advantage of the student government, a cappella groups and visiting speakers (from heroic ex-mayors to exiled literary giants, and that's just this year). But in rushing from event to event, it's easy to lose the chance to truly enjoy the moment, easy to forget to reflect and appreciate it. What good is a date book proving we've done x, y and z when we haven't really experienced them enough to call up one pleasant memory?

It would do all of us good to stop and smell the roses, and this extends beyond graduation as well. The more I think about it, the better the idea of taking time off sounds.

Too many of us are obsessively focused on finding the perfect job/grad school program/whatever out there -- but not only does this plan make senior year a stressful nightmare, it's also rather unrealistic. First of all, the "perfect" anything is notoriously difficult to find. Secondly, chances are that our conceptions of the perfect career will evolve, so that the position we knocked ourselves out to get will fail to inspire us in a year or two. And anyway, a slight delay in life plans won't derail our careers. There's no harm (and a lot of good) in taking the scenic route along life's highway.

There's much to be said in praise of a downgrade in strict achievement plans, so don't be afraid to take time off to do something you've always wanted to do. Bike across Europe, lead tours through the Grand Canyon, wait tables at some exotic restaurant -- because really, when else will you be able to do it? Student loan payments, rent, marriage and kids all loom in the wings to tie us down to a particular location. Besides, we've got the rest of our lives to work and so little time to be footloose and fancy-free (a valuable argument, even if you ignore the broadening of horizon you're sure to experience).

I've been told it always helps to take a long perspective when considering life. When those little stresses get you down, ask yourself: will this matter tomorrow? Next month? In 50 years? Here in the stressful-achievement bubble of Penn, it's almost shocking to realize that the measure of life comes not so much from a laundry list of accomplishments as the moments that seep in between them.

I'm leaving Texas far too soon for my liking, but I'm doing my best to hold on to this vacation state of mind. You know what? I'm already happier.

Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan is a junior communications major from Wheaton, Ill.

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