AMANDA GORDON
Staff Writer
Like many Pepperdine students, I am always “workin’ for the weekend.” After a stressful week of class, practice, homework and rushing around, I was thankful for the weekend, a time when I finally got to choose what I would do, and I was ready to have some fun. I reserve my weekends as a time to sleep, go out, catch up with friends, work out, and shop—not battle an eye infection. My eyes, and my health in general actually, are something that I kind of take for granted, I just expect them to work. Especially on the weekend, when I have planned to use them.
And for me, the weekend of Sept. 28 to 30 was planned down to the second. It was devoted to lunch dates, workouts, barbecues, a breakfast with friends, babysitting, shopping, and beach time. You name it, I was going to do it.
Thanks to some rogue bacteria, however, an eye infection barred me from even leaving my apartment much this weekend. When I did leave, I was armed with eye drops and dark sunglasses, looking part hypochondriac and part celebrity wannabe. The result wasn’t pretty.
Pre-eye catastrophe, I invited friends to my apartment for breakfast. Not wanting to cancel plans, I carried on flipping pancakes, shielding my sensitive eyes with a ballcap and sunglasses, looking more like Ray Charles than Rachel Ray in the kitchen. The next day, on a coffee dash to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with my roommate, I was so visually impaired that I literally ran into Brad Garret, the tall guy with the booming voice from Everybody Loves Raymond. Talk about star struck (more like a star—striking).
There were a few benefits to my temporary hermit status. Thanks to “America’s Next Top Model” reruns, I now know the names of every judge and model on seasons 1 through 6. I’ve finally seen my busy roommates, chatted with my mom, caught the premier of Grey’s and even reached the bottom of my industrial sized laundry pile. And, instead of reaching the end of my weekend feeling like a chicken with my head cut off, I will feel rested. What a concept. And thanks to resting up, being able to actually see will be nice too.
Surprisingly, though, going temporarily blind has “opened my eyes” to benefits of life in slow-motion. Like showers, massages, and naps, some things in life are better when they aren’t rushed. When we slow down, we get a chance to actually enjoy the ride.
The “eye” as I’ve affectionately named my condition, stopped me in my tracks and made me realize just how blessed I am to be healthy. I work out, take my vitamins and know the produce section of Whole Foods like the back of my hand — I should be healthy, right? But all of that can disappear as quickly as a Malibu Yo in a room of water polo players. I value my health, but I never missed it until it was gone.
Here in Malibu, beauty is a high priority. We drive high-performance vehicles, eat expensive fresh groceries and live off a constant stream of pop culture and media tailored to our desires. But a life without health is futile. Its like owning a brand new iPhone and not getting any service. Pretty pointless.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying we should all live like Bubble Boy and shun germs and sickness. I’m a big fan of seizing the moment: dance until dawn, go skinny-dipping at midnight, and those nights when you just need to eat the whole bowl of brownie batter. But in between busy social lives and crazy class schedules, say a little prayer of thanks for good health. It’s one of life’s little everyday miracles. But if something should ever go awry, don’t forget that a weekend of doing absolutely nothing can be good for you every once in a while too.
10-04-2007