On Comfort
I watch the same TV shows over and over again. I read the same books. I wear the same outfit in different iterations. But there are hundreds of shows I could watch and books I could read instead of the one I’ve liked since I was fourteen. I have a lot of clothes, but I only wear a fraction of them on a regular basis. And I know I’m not alone. There’s something odd about the way we develop comforts and routines. Something about these things tells us we’re us. And at a certain age, change is seen as unwelcome.
When you’re a baby or a toddler, everything is new. Each day you get up and learn something about the world you’ve spent so little time in. Maybe you learn a new word, maybe you learn how to stand up, or maybe you just learn how to tie your shoes. And all of these things are committed to your mind and become part of your sense of the world around you. There’s no such thing as comfort and routine when you’re this age. I’m not sure if it’s because when you’re this age you have no capacity to commit such things to “routine” or you just need to be learning something new each day. Either way, babies and toddlers are erratic, routine-less beings.
As we grow older, we develop routines that we are told we must have. At the age of five, we already know that we’re supposed to get up in the morning, eat breakfast, brush our teeth and our hair, get dressed, and head off to wherever we need to go. And although this is not necessarily a “bad” routine, after a certain age we stop challenging things like this. I’m sure many of us asked our parents why we had to be up at 7 AM when we were this young. I don’t think I’ve asked why in quite a few years.
I think these basic routines give way to us thinking that change is bad, and that we need to stick to our routines. Even as we transition from elementary to middle school and middle to high school, we retain a certain keenness to try new things. But there’s something about becoming an adult that saps us of our willingness to expand outside our comfort zone. We become recluses of habit, wanting simply to stick with what we know. I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, routines and habits can be productive. But, there’s something uniquely sad about the loss of our spontaneity and disorder in growing old.
I really enjoyed reading this post because it's very relatable and I have realized that over time I am less likely to try new things. Many people in my parents or grandparents generation aren't as accepting to change. We have these routines that aren't necessarily bad but make us less likely to want change. This is really good to think about and I really liked the writing style you used.
ReplyDeleteI really relate to this blog post and like how it is written. On one hand (in my experiences) as I've grown up I tended to separate myself form my child self and seem more "Adult-like". Another idea i have that could be completely wrong but at least sounds deep is that as we grow up we begin to realize how much more dangerous the world is; and we want to feel safe and the only place safe is with what we already know...
ReplyDeleteThis is a really beautifully written blog post; the last sentence is especially striking. I've been thinking about this a lot recently, especially with college coming up. I do like UIUC a lot, mostly because of its familiarity – my dad has worked there a long time, I've been to so many activities at UIUC, and obviously, my experience being on campus everyday at Uni. So I'm sure when it comes close for me to pick between colleges, I'll have the choice to stay somewhere that is comfortable and familiar, or go somewhere really new. I'm not sure what I'll actually do in this scenario.
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