9/12/07:

"This I Believe" - by Pui Yan Cho 

I believe in the power of personal time. As an international student who has studied in the U.S. and spent a semester abroad in France, the cultural difference that I experienced in France was greater than I thought I would have experienced. In a weekday afternoon, French people often go to a coffee shop to chat for a couple hours after work, whereas in Hong Kong where I am from, despite its hectic schedule, it is not uncommon for family to get together to enjoy tea and delicious Chinese dim-sum in the restaurant for at least 2-3 hours on a Sunday morning.   

This led me to realize that Americans seem to be in a rush all the time. Besides seeming to be in a rush, Americans, especially college students tend to occupy themselves every single minute. Doing nothing could be viewed by American students as a waste of time or being lazy.

Observing the different ways different cultures treat personal time makes me think about how I value personal time and led me to realize how important it is to me.

As a graduating senior, I saw my college life back in my freshman and sophomore year, I occupied myself too much with extra curricular activities, 5 classes per semester and held down a job on campus. There was a point where I asked myself, where am I and who am I? I felt like I just had meetings everyday and I was doing something all the time but never had time to myself to reflect, to absorb, and to enjoy what life had to bring. So I decided to step back a little. I started to spend more time alone not to isolate myself from my friends, but to recharge myself. In the summer time, I read books and fell asleep by the dock, rode a bike to get away from campus, or did a few scrapbook pages. I believe that it is necessary and helpful to slow down a little bit from a fast paced American life. Take sometime for yourself and relax on a Saturday evening.