Spring cleaning for the mind
Campus Times
September 13, 1996
by Scott Mac Kay
News Editor
Cleaning your dorm room. Not just the shuffling of twice worn clothing,
the stacking of last weeks notes or the disposal of week old coffee cups.
Actually vacuuming.
Normally this would not cause any deep and meaningful revelations to someone's
mind, or cause them to rethink their very existence on this planet, but
cleaning of one's room can lead to a little nostalgia.
Cleaning your room for the first time in your life without anyone telling
you it had to be done, can be very scary. Perhaps it is the first sign that
you have moved away from the freedom of youth and entered the chains of
adulthood.
Remember the carefree days of youth when the biggest fear was having to
clean your room before going out to play. At that point in life the hard
eight hour work day consisted of meeting with friends to ride bikes, or
building a fort in the backyards trying to squeeze as much fun into the
daylight hours as possible.
Now a carefree day has all college students working to support themselves
and an education. The carefree days of fun in the sun have become a distant
glimmer of of what our children may come to know as the "good old days."
As the vacuum motor whirls, let your mind wander, thinking about the new
responsibilities that all adults face on a daily basis.
From the simplest action of recycling, to the complex decision at the ballot
box. At some point everyone must step forward and take their turn as Atlas,
supporting the weight of their world upon their shoulders.
The fact that we clean our rooms now, without being provoked, proves in
the smallest way that we have entered into a world of responsible adults
who don't build forts anymore, who are faced with choices that must be made.
Choices that demand responsible actions and affect the world we live within.
There is no diploma to signify this passage into adulthood, no tests to
pass, or prerequisite for admission. You may not even know you are an adult.
Adulthood is like a long term disease that overtakes the body until you
find yourself admitting responsibility and acting in a way your parents
would appreciate.
Some people try to deny adulthood and responsibility in our society. Most
of them can be found in correctional institutions or still hiding in college.
All of this is understandable, responsibility can be scary. Being accountable
for your actions requires you to admit when you are wrong, and admit that
your mistakes may have caused harm to others.
As adults we now have a luxury, if we never clean our rooms our parents
will not force the issue and not let us out to play.
If we attract ants with our messy lifestyle it is to the discomfort of only
ourselves. The environment in which we live is a direct result of our actions.
Likewise, if we fail to take responsibility for our lives no one else will.
When we fail to clean our lives up and attract bugs and dirt, this is the
choice we have made as responsible adults.
Taking out the trash is just another way of getting rid of pain from the
past and not allowing it to clutter the future. Wiping off dust is a way
to expose what is underneath and sometimes lost. Use of a good vacuum will
make sure you have a safe and clear path to walk.
Responsibility is the trait of being accountable to no other person but
yourself. Responsibility is the realization that you as an individual must
act to change your life and the lives of those who surround you.
Responsibility is one of the most desired and most lacking trait in people
today.
Just look at all the messy rooms.
Scott Mac Kay, a senior communications major, is news editor
of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at mackays@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.