(Photo by : lisadragon/ / CC BY 2.0 )

By Binks:

For those who won’t know what the heck chillax means: It’s to “chill out” and “relax.”

I don’t know about you, ladies but when I was in High School and even now in College, there’s this uber fast-paced vibe everywhere I go. The list you have to accomplish in this super competitive world just keep growing and growing, and the age to reach the end of the list gets younger and younger. Most of the teens I know (if not all) are running around everywhere, like chickens with our heads cut-off, trying to accomplish the things on this magical list society keeps asking of us. The list looks something like this: Get a freakishly high GPA to get into college (or transfer, or get to Grad school, yada yada), Be everywhere at once with your amazing multi-task capabilities and dive into: sports, community service, volunteer work, clubs, actual work, internships, etc. You need to get scholarships that require essays and letters of recommendation, because honestly, who in the heck can pay for college these days who’s last name doesn’t end in Hilton?. Also, to get an amazing GPA that will impress, you should take higher level courses to at least get a shot, and don’t forget to finish the homework of the higher level classes ’cause if you don’t….hellow plummeting GPA.What’s this for? To build an incredibly amazing resumé that will wow anyone who sees it and HOORAY! You’re awesome, we want you!

Yes, all of this is to ensure you have as much as a good future as you possibly can. Right? Well, let’s think about this for a sec. When you get out of college, you will probably have loans the size of Texas and need to get a job to pay for them ASAP. Ignoring the factor of the crappy economic situations we’re facing today, would you try to get a really good job where you’d continue the beheaded chicken dance? Or would you take some time to chillax?

Most, if asked, would like to say chillax but the way a lot of us has been taught is to work your butt off when your young to ensure a nice comfy future when your old. It’s not a bad thought, I mean you don’t want to be worried about your retirement fund at 70, but if you’re always focusing on the future, always working towards a goal for the future You, when are you ever going to enjoy being You in the present?

We live in a fast-paced world, where everyone is always on the-go. Right now you have to decide what you wanna be when you grow up (aka go to college in a couple of years), right now you have to decide a nice big chunk of your path and you have to decide quick how you’re getting there. But if you’re always focused on what’s yet to come, how are you enjoying being young? Isn’t youth the best time in your life? What if you’re so busy trying to become a successful adult, being young flies by?

What do you guys think? Should you chillax a bit, get some breather room? Maybe take a year off before going to college? Or take some time after college to decide what you really want to do? Or should you just keep chugging along at full speed because you never know what the future may bring?

Thoughts?