Para arriba, para abajo, para centro, para dentro!

Working hard at college is crucial to fulfill the aspirations you set before you came to Post. However, so is letting your hair down and having a party, fiesta, and just generally letting go of those worries and stresses that come with the horrendous workload the university throws upon us. This week, I wanted to find out whether people do this or not. Do they relax and relieve the tension, or do they stay cooped up in their dorm rooms and sweat out a few essays?

Before I go out and cut a few shapes at a party or bar with the American/Ecuadorian/Paraguayan/Scottish/Mexican/whatever species that huge giant Kevin LaBarbara is (a freshman goalie for the men’s soccer team), we all have shots of “water,” to hydrate, of course. Before we perform such well thought-out actions, we say the words: “Para arriba, para abajo, para centro, para dentro!” and in this moment of joy, happiness, worry-free and love, the feeling is amazing. None of us have the worry about “getting that essay in for Tuesday” or “preparing for that quiz on Monday.” No, we are thinking in the moment that we are relaxed and ready to—in the words of my Hispanic companions—FIESTA!

The reason for me feeling so strongly about why people should really relax when it comes to that never-coming weekend is that you have just had a tough, intense, and erratic week of school and work. There is scientific evidence proving that rest and partying helps the levels of concentration for the upcoming week… and if you want to know where I heard this fact, it was on Fox News! No, I am joking, but the principle stands; you can’t keep working 24-7 through each semester. YOU NEED A BREAK! And by a break, I don’t mean a hardcore session of Call of Duty (which is a quality game, by the way). Get out and socialize; go and meet a few more people and add them to your resume of Facebook friends or Instagram followers.

Even if you are not a very sociable person, there are many wicked and nice restaurants, let alone the next generation, mesmerizing, and best cinema I have ever been to, just up in Broadway Mall! Just try and get out of that “panic room” type box, which they call a dorm. Don’t even think about heading to the library; that is not a sufficient amount of “getting out.”

I totally understand that it is extremely important for us to study, and to study as hard as we can to get the best possible grades we can! The most frustrating thing in the world is when a person you know has that natural ability to know everything about everything and doesn’t have to put in the hours of revision you do, and then they take a test and get 100 out of a 100. Arghhh! So you may feel like “I don’t have the time to go out!” or “I need to get this essay done!” and these are valid reasons,

I guess…But what I would suggest for students is you don’t have to go out every weekend. Just go out on events. For example, this past weekend, the men’s soccer team held its annual Halloween party. It was huge; a perfect opportunity for people to dress up, enjoy themselves and have fun with people they hadn’t seen for a while. And I can tell you for a fact that no one was worrying about a midterm the following week. And the best part was that everyone had the whole of Sunday to study!

Finding out fun events like these can be pretty simple! For example, there are always loads of events on campus, such as Greek events during the week where they let you know what happens in that fraternity/sorority, how to join, or fun events that are coming up. There is also tons of information at the front desk of the infamous Hillwood, which contains upcoming “shindigs”(parties) or different gatherings that may be occurring soon.