This I Believe : Aaron Roppoli

Jump a Bush

It is an unavoidable truth that many people suffer from the schedule that can steal freedom and seem to restrict a persons’ character with its repetitiveness. I wasn’t spared from falling victim to the monotony of a schedule. My schedule was the typical one of waking up, going to school, going to work, studying, then going to sleep in order to recharge my body so I could do it all again. It controlled me to the point that my body could go through the day even if it didn’t have a brain. Many times I find myself at home after the 40 minute drive from college and think back on the trip and struggle to remember most of it because of the powerful effect of a boring schedule. But I believe that I can include fun into my life and also break the tight grip that schedules can take on me by doing small actions to change life from a recurring nightmare into an awesome experience.

 

I have a lot of childish fun through making the most of the time in my life that is ruled by a schedule. One thing I do is jump from parking block to parking block rather than just simply walking across a parking lot. I love jumping over bushes instead of walking around them. It doesn’t matter if I successfully clear the bush or realize that it was larger than it looked mid jump and end up being swallowed by it because I still find a lot of happiness that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Just the fact that I went against the norm or against what society expects me to do brings me a feeling of accomplishment. When I’m doing these things I sometimes notice people giving me weird looks but I just imagine them thinking, “That guy looks like he’s having fun. I wish I did stuff like that.” Once I get into this mindset, almost everything and everywhere transforms into something that I never thought would make me so happy. A set of stairs is one of those unexpected gifts because instead of just walking down the stairs sometimes I jump onto the handrail and try to walk down it while trying to balance. Instead of walking up the stairs, I run up to them and see how many stairs I can jump up.

 I basically turn back into a child for these small precious opportunities. Even if I’m in college and over 6 feet tall, I still enjoy crouching down to see from a child’s viewpoint. It’s a perspective that changes the world with its innocence and amazing ability to create fun out of nothing.  I believe that the little things in life can make me really happy even if just for a moment.