By Ahmed Wafi
They say that the devil’s workshop is located in the idle mind and it has reached that time of the year where we find ourselves with a lot of free time in our hands. Many students in IIUM are currently on holiday until September except for those who opted to register for the short semester. Unless you’re taking an Arabic course in the short semester, you are likely to find yourself with nothing to do and when you have nothing to do, the Devil’s work will be made easier.
In many cases when students are seemed to be too relaxed they might be procrastinating work or they might have forgotten about something. As is the case with many students in IIUM (myself included) who tend to put off completing their assignments until the last minute but since students are on holiday, we don’t really have any work to procrastinate so what should we be doing?
If you’re one of the many who opted not to enrol in the short semester then most people will tell you that the best thing to do is to look for a part-time job in order to make some extra cash. This would definitely be a smart choice because not long from now, if not already, we will have to step into the real world of rent and bills where we have to fend for ourselves and money talks, so getting some extra cash will do a lot of good.
If you did manage to enrol in the short semester but you find your classes to be only twice or three times a week you will most likely also have a lot of free time especially early in the semester when assignments have not been handed out and even when assignments have been issued, how busy could you be? Read a book! Exercise! Read more books! Do more exercise! Your body is the only place you’re going to have to live so you should be taking really good care of it.
Unfortunately, based on observation, the Malaysian youth are not very fond of reading and this proves to be a problem because without reading, one’s horizons cannot be widened. There are literally millions of good books that are begging to be read, millions of books that can test your intellect, so why not pick up one or two instead of scrolling through your social media all day?
Do some exercise because a fit body is a happy body. According to an article published by the Wall Street Journal, exercise can lower the risk of a number of diseases and illnesses including strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and can even act as an anti-depressant. Exercise also increases one’s attention span and boosts energy levels and on top of all that, you’ll also look good! Have you ever seen a fit person who looks ugly?
There are so many things that can be done during one’s free time and more free time simply means more things to do. Learn a language, learn a new skill, read more books, do more exercise, and the list goes on and on. The Devil is always looking for a new workshop and hopefully, if we keep ourselves busy, we’ll keep him at bay.
Keep in mind that every day is a new opportunity, so don’t waste it! Happy holidays and good luck!***