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A Holistic Approach to Balance

By Evan Tsai (‘22)

Almost all college students struggle with balance. In an environment that stresses productivity and involvement, there is always something around campus that can fill up your time. This semester I am taking an 18 credit course load, working an on-campus job, leading a new club sport, serving on a committee, planning for my career/grad school, and doing consulting work. At times it can feel overwhelming. However, as I reflect on my busyness, I am grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. The question then becomes, how do I maintain balance while striving for excellence in everything that I do?

When evaluating balance in your life, it is important to look at your personal health in multiple areas. Throughout this article, I will help you holistically evaluate your health in five different ways and provide tips for improvement. 

Academic: A unique part of college is the freedom to structure your work and study schedule around your personal habits. This is more flexible than the fixed schedule we had as a K-12 student or will have as working adults. However, with this new flexibility, it can be challenging to figure out how much time you should be spending on a class. If you find yourself spending more than 45 hours per week working outside of classes on a 15-credit course load, consider asking your professor for help, requesting a tutor, or consulting your classmates. Although you should strive for A’s in all your classes, sometimes it is important to acknowledge that a B is more realistic in a class that you are struggling with.

Sleep: Most college students struggle to develop healthy sleeping patterns. The National Sleep Foundation says adults should get around seven to nine hours of sleep. Although nine hours may seem very difficult, getting at least 6 hours of sleep is key for your ability to function. Loss of sleep can also lead to poor appetite, focus issues, and increased anxiety. If you are struggling with sleep, consider setting a consistent bedtime and wake-up time every day. It is also good to avoid screen time an hour prior to bed. Developing a night time routine that helps you to slow down and prepare for rest could include: taking care of your personal hygiene, reading, journaling, listening to music, setting out clothes for the next day, and making sure all your needed materials are in your backpack for class. Some of these tips have helped me ensure that I get enough sleep every night.

Physical: Living in Western NY, it can be very hard to be motivated to exercise in the harsh winters. The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week, which can be broken down to 30 minutes, five days per week. If you are an NCAA athlete, that can be easy. However, if you find yourself struggling like me, try planning three times per week where you can exercise for 30 minutes. This could be going to the gym to bike, taking a walk with a friend, or joining in on a recreational sport being played around campus. Physical activity can help with maintaining a healthy weight, preventing anxiety, and improving your energy level.

Mental: Adjusting to college life can bear a huge mental toll on many students regardless of their age and experience. According to the APA, over 40% of college students suffer from anxiety, and over 35% suffer depression. Missing family, feeling the pressure of academic performance, and navigating social conflicts are just some of the many challenges you may struggle with. It’s important that you are able to develop healthy practices to process and work through these issues. Although it’s intimidating to reach out for help, there are many great resources at college. If you are struggling with mental health, the Counseling Center, your RA, the Dean of the Chapel’s Office, and even some of your professors are here to help.

Spiritual: Even at a Christian college, it is easy to neglect your personal faith. Chapels, Bible classes, and other required spiritual activities provide a good way to grow in a corporate worship setting. Some people may think that is enough, but part of your walk with God is growing in your personal relationship with Him. Specifically, morning or evening devotions are a great practical way to do this. Take 5 minutes in your day to sit and reflect. Read a short passage and pray. These moments can be critical in aligning your heart with the Lord. When you are overwhelmed by the constant demands of college, being reminded of God’s faithfulness, goodness, and peace is important.

These five areas of personal health are relevant to the struggles of college students. I hope that you are able to gain some insight into balance, and I encourage you to pick an area where you can improve your balance. It’s ultimately an ongoing journey as we seek a balanced lifestyle while striving to be successful with all of our responsibilities. ★

If you would like to talk more about balance, you can email me at evan.tsai23@houghton.edu.

Evan is a senior Business Administration major, with minors in Communication, Economics, and Organizational Management.

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Minimum Wage: Tilting At Windmills

A growing number of Americans, academics, and politicians herald a rise in minimum wage as a solution to fight poverty. The concept seems simple, politicians agree what is a livable minimum wage and it becomes the law of the land. However, government solutions to economics typically resemble Don Quixote tilting at windmills.

While politicians may concoct a faux pas minimum or living wage, real wages are determined by a marketplace, not the government. As economist Paul Krugman once remarked, “Wages are a market price—determined by supply and demand, the same as the price of apples or coal.” In capitalist societies, corporations will pay dearly for specific skills or if labor is in short supply. Just ask Wal-Mart workers in Wilston, North Dakota who start at $17.40 an hour.

JoeGNow that government sets the minimum wage, employers must decide if the wage, benefits, taxes and training are worth the value of the task at hand. People with no experience or no diploma find it hard to enter the workforce. They are impeded from opportunity of economic mobility into future, better jobs. You won’t move up the ladder if you can’t get on the ladder.

Minimum wage not only shrinks job market perspectives, but also has a weak correlation to low wage workers and poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Economist Joseph Sabia found minimum wage increases on both the state and federal level between 2003 and 2007 “had no effect on state poverty rates.” According to Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute, “Less than 3% of hourly wage earners over the age of 24 earn at or below the federal minimum.” Most minimum wage earners are teenagers who are seeking work experience. These same teens face a 24% unemployment rate.  It could be argued that high school and college workers with the need for experience should forgo any minimum wage. In the past, college students voluntarily traded labor for the experience gained from internship.

I discovered how differently fast food restaurants were operated while travelling around Europe playing baseball this summer. At a McDonald’s in La Rochelle, France, there was no counter person taking orders, instead it was a computer. Why would an American corporation be more technologically advanced in France than in their domestic franchises? I asked a French worker, who said McDonald’s found it more economically feasible to buy an expensive computer system rather than pay France’s minimum wage of $12.09 plus a multitude of benefits and payroll taxes gifted by French politicians.

When labor is costly and can be replaced by machines, most businesses invest in capital intensive systems. Even in the US, we are now witnessing technology replace the demand for workers. Check out your local bank with half the amount of tellers as it had ten years ago. Home Depot has automated cashiers. At Applebee’s, your “Neighborhood Grill and Bar,” don’t expect Flo, your favorite, neighborly waitress, to take your nachos order in the future. “Presto”—the tablet computer—has secretly been added to your table, next to the salt and pepper shakers.  Since Presto works for free, should we tip Presto more than the customary 15%?

Small businesses are the engine of our economy. There should be little or no regulation on them, so long as it does not affect the safety of their employees or the public. Small businesses are typically underfunded and unable to immediately buy systems to replace people.  In fact, these businesses can thrive by giving a human-touch experience versus their larger counterparts. However, the more we increase and mandate minimum wages and fringe benefits, once negotiated privately by consenting adults, the more we increase the problems we see in France. George W. Bush once quipped, “The trouble with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.” If we keep on passing minimum wage laws, this country might not have a word for enterprise.

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Students and the Recognition of the Sabbath

Every Sabbath, I ask myself this: to do homework or not to do homework – that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to conquer the papers and projects of outrageous overload, or to relax with my weekly Sabbath away from the tsunami of stress.

saffabthEven here at a Christian college, I notice that many students spend their Sabbaths cramped up in their room, studying for that big exam they have the next day or starting that eight page paper that they have been avoiding like the plague. Where is their Sabbath day of rest in this? What has happened to the day that God has set aside as holy? Exodus 31 tells us, “You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you,” and what joy we feel when we observe the Sabbath!
The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). We are human, and because of that, we have limitations. We cannot run continuously without ever getting exhausted; heck, I can barely run a mile without breathing like Darth Vader and getting side stickers. For us humans, rest is a necessity. In 2011, full-time college students studied an average of 15 hours a week, 30% got less than 6 hours a sleep a night, and 25% worked 20 hours or more a week (National Survey). These statistics alone show that college students overwork, under-sleep, and over-commit themselves.
But because God cares for us and loves us, He gives us a model to follow. That model is himself. On the third page of my Bible, I read, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation” (Genesis 2:2-3). Now, I can’t imagine that God was exhausted and that He actually needed an entire day to rest. But God set an example so that His children could emulate Him. So why don’t we? Why do we fill the Sabbath with work, homework, and constant business?
This is something that we as Christians should change. We should weekly take the Sabbath. So what is one to do on the Sabbath? Are they just supposed to lie in bed all day sleeping? Well, there is a difference between being lazy and resting. I believe Barbara Brown Taylor, a priest, professor, and theologian, says it best in her book, An Altar in the World, when she describes the Sabbath as “a day of saying no. A day of spiritual growth. A day of not doing, but being.” I don’t think the question is so much, “If I do this, does that count as working on the Sabbath?” as much as “How can I rest today and enjoy this day that God has blessed me with and has made holy?”
That being said, I’m not going to be like the Pharisees, defining what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath, but know that the Sabbath looks different for each person. Sleep in. Go to Church. Spend time with God: through prayer, worship, his word. Journal. Spend time relaxing, giving your mind a break from all of the studying and paper writing. Fellowship with friends, enjoying their company. Go on a hike. Read a book. Take a nap. The options are endless.
But there is one thing that is important, and that is to “Be still and know that God is God” (Psalm 46:10).
And I admit, it is hard to obey the Sabbath. This past Sunday, I battled with whether to do homework or not. With two papers and readings that were due on Monday alone, taking an entire day off from homework sounded unreasonable. But I tell you what, I kept the Sabbath. I spent time with God, I worshipped, I watched a movie, read a book, hung out with friends, and ended the night celebrating a friend’s birthday. And throughout it all, I had peace. When Monday morning rolled around, God gave me the strength to rise out of bed, and blessed me with an abundant amount of time to work on homework. And I am still at peace, thankful once again, that I obeyed my Father, rested, and took the Sabbath.
I believe Christian author Mark Buchanan sums up the Sabbath the best, saying, “Sabbath imparts the rest of God – physical, mental, spiritual rest, but also the rest of God – the things of God’s nature and presence we miss in our busyness.”
For these very reasons, every Sunday I say to myself: To observe Sabbath or to observe Sabbath. There is no question.