“What is life?”

That's something I catch myself saying all too often. My Odyssey bio gives only a shortened version of everything I have a hand in. Some days I feel like I'm drowning. Others, I just want to lay in bed, much to my mother’s dismay.

Long story short, I'm an extremely busy person, but who isn’t, in our generation? You probably don’t even know their names anymore. It’s time we start realizing that it's not a bad thing to be busy.

But why?

Think of the kids in high school that weren’t as involved as you were. What are they doing with their lives now? What did they do with all the time that they weren’t spending out on the field or volunteering?

Chances are, they were getting in trouble, spending whatever money they had, or just sitting at home, bored out of their minds, spending time in front of a television screen playing video games that gave them a false sense of reality.

This isn’t to say that you didn’t spend whatever money you had, or spend some time with your XBox controller, nor am I claiming that either is bad for you. However, if you were extremely busy, you most likely had a job, so you knew the value of that dollar you spent, and only used video games as a leisure activity, not a hobby.

OK, and..?

What I'm trying to get at is that those of us who are extremely busy should be busy enjoying it. But we aren’t. Hear me when I say that life could be so much more dull.

Sure, you have a paper due on Wednesday, and you have practice after class, followed by a four-hour shift at work, but are you enjoying every second of it? OK, I get it. Papers aren’t fun, but reaching goals is (and that midterm will bring you one paper closer to graduation).

So what is it about being busy that makes us upset? The stress? Or would you rather be able to waste your days lying around?

But lazy days are the best!

Well, OK, maybe every once in awhile. However, being productive is so much more fulfilling. It feels nice to earn a dollar, practice a sport you love, or study something you're passionate about.

If you're as really busy as you think, you also shouldn't really worry about any deadlines or due dates, because being busy means you're on top of your game.

Well, I guess that's true.

Of course it’s true! How many times have you lay in bed watching Netflix, and realized that you have a paper due that you completely forgot about? How many times have you kept laying in bed watching Netflix, but just with the stress of that same paper pulling at your mind? What about that time you worked your butt off to get all your assignments done by the weekend, so that you could have a night to lay in bed and watch Netflix? Didn’t that time feel much nicer than the times that you didn’t busy yourself with your work?

OK, I get it. Being busy is a good thing.

Good. Being busy ends up giving you less stressful days and helps you reach goals, while also keeping you safe and out of trouble.

So the next time you feel like complaining about being busy, smile, because things could be much worse.