Listening Ears at Emory

Ah, spring is in the air and images of bikinis and beautiful sunsets replace the dull monotony of midterms. Cancun, Cabo, Panama City, wherever your destination, Spring Break seems to have been invented for the college student. It does, pose a problem, however. Whether you have been in a relationship for 3 days, 3 months, or 3 years, if you and your lover are parting ways for this week of mayhem, shit is bound to hit the fan unless you apply plenty of love block.

While there are probably less than 2 percent of lovers who have complete and unfaltering trust in their other half, the rest of us delve into spring break debauchery with unequivocal doubt. What if Michael meets that drunken freshman hottie in a plaid bikini that just can’t say no? Oh no, my girlfriend is going to the same beach as the Varsity Basketball player who bumped into her towel clad on their freshman hall! These thoughts can plague even the most savvy of beach goers.

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          The video below is from a 1970s self-affirmation video entitled, “Free To Be… You and Me.”  I thought of it the other day when I was having a conversation with one of my male friends who was talking about ”how weird it was” that our professor got teary in class when talking about the death of a friend. This comment spawned a conversation about who it was acceptable to cry in front of and what things were ”worthy” of tears. My answer is always, “It’s alright to cry!” 

                When is the last time you took a class simply because you wanted to try something new? Have you tried a novel thing lately? Most likely the answer to both of these questions is no. It is often a struggle to fully experience emerging adulthood while at Emory.

Emerging adulthood is the period from the ages of 18-25, during which people are supposed to explore their identity and are free to try different lifestyles. Parsons (1942) describes our role during this time as a roleless one. We are not yet tied down to a family or profession and thus better able to take risks. During this time most people leave their parent’s home and live in different places from year to year. The focus of the emerging adulthood is not the future, rather on one’s current development and exploration is of utmost importance.

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It started like any other flu I have ever had: pain behind my eyes, body aches, and a general feeling of utter crappiness.  It even progressed like a normal flu bug: fever, chills, nausea, and more feelings of utter crappiness. What a fantastic time to have the flu! With midterms approaching, and Valentines Day and other fun social events to attend, I resolved to beat this sucker into submission and keep plugging along. Until early one Monday morning, I had a 104 fever and my mother advised me to go to the Emergency Room, lest my brain fry like bacon. After a five-hour stint at the ER, I came out hydrated, X-rayed, and slapped with the diagnosis of “Viral Syndrome” just like “every other student seen in the last three weeks.”  With prescriptions for Vicodin (I don’t know why, because I didn’t complain of muscle pain) and 800mg ibuprofen in hand, I left thinking, “Good, now that’s over, I can get back to things.”  Man was I wrong.

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