Wait, it's Day One?

Oh man. First days. Usually, on my first-day of something, my enthusiasm is through the roof--each step I take brims with gusto as I march into my task.

If my usual first day is an “A,” then my first day of this living experiment was a big, fat “F.” I’m accrediting it to a case of bad circumstances. This week and the week before it, school has gotten significantly more exhausting and merciless. I think I’m finally getting out of my college freshman fantasyland. Unfortunately, Tuesday, the day we started, was one of the more rough days of the bunch. I didn’t sleep, I didn’t have a spare moment, and I certainly wasn’t conscious of the living experiment. Fatigue and frustration do a great job of making a person a complete zombie.

Needless to say, by luck and chance, I did manage to adhere to some of my experiment measures. Considering I didn’t have time to go fiddle with my phone, I truly did only use it for necessary calls and texts. My desperate need to finish reading both a book and an article for a class I had in the next hour facilitated me taking my half hour to sit in the sun. Although I wasn’t reading something of choice, it was still revitalizing to absorb some rays. And, it was much more pleasant than cramming indoors in the library or something. A free dinner at a required pre-med banquet meant an opportunity to get container-free food, so my consumerism goal looked like it would be fulfilled. But, my incessant illness and mid-day fatigue coerced me to buy a bottle of OJ to get that vitamin C boost I needed to make it through my block class. Darn. I was close on that one!

Technology, check; happiness and wellness, check; consumerism, sort-of check. The other half? Let’s see.

As for my transportation vow to never take the elevator, I realized that social circumstances can really work against you. I mindlessly took the elevator with my friends, forgetting about my rule as I laughed and joked around. By the time I remembered, I was already off the elevator and onto the next topic of conversation. Oops. (I should also note that I took the bus to Georgetown for the Ben & Jerry’s National Free Cone Day; being that I had a time restriction and it was free ice cream, I’m considering that use of public transport completely necessary).

Food. Like I said, there was a free banquet with catered food that I had to attend as a pre-med student. The sight of a non-TDR buffet completely took over my brain as I wolfed down delicious green beans, strawberry salad with champagne vinaigrette, eggplant Parmesan, and…chicken.

Reading the newspaper just didn’t happen. My free reading time was eaten up by academic readings, and by the end of it all, I had absolutely no motivation to look at any more written text.

The good news is, that day is over. Today is fresh and new, and although no less chaotic, I have a better outlook on it. No more excuses! (Even if free-food related).