As I sat at a barstool at 3B’s Saloon on Saturday, hunched over my dinner and coincidental final hurrah with a friend who would be leaving for Spain in two days, I made a transcendent connection between the melt-in-your-mouth barbecue beef brisket that was nearly suffocating me and the workload this semester that is threatening to do the same.
Before I get into this monumental metaphor, and I apologize for my abundant use of alliteration, let me set the stage.
If you haven’t yet been to 3B’s, and you’re a foodie at heart, like myself, do yourself a favor and go for lunch. Today. Right now. Seriously, stop reading this and go.
Located on Fourth and Liberty streets, 3B’s is like the barbecue Mecca of Erie. Not only is the barbecue sauce itself borderline drinkable, the side dishes alone are worth making the journey for.
For her bon voyage meal, my friend and I ordered damn near every side on the menu, in addition to our brisket. Just two classy ladies dining alone at a tall top, surrounded by crocks of homemade jalapeno macaroni and cheese, broccoli slaw, mashed potatoes, baked beans, sweet potato waffle fries and piles of BBQ-stained napkins.
According to our waitress, the kitchen staff placed bets on whether or not we would need carry out boxes. I’ll save you the anticipation – we didn’t.
The sinking feeling that I got when she first brought out all that food, though, reminded me of another parallel feeling that’s threatening to give me ulcers before my time. That feeling comes every morning when I wake up and realize that not only do I have classes and extracurriculars to worry about, I have to write my senior thesis and figure out what I’m doing with myself after I graduate in May.
I was beginning to think that maybe I ordered myself one too many side dishes.
That dreaded feeling of being constantly behind or constantly worrying about what needs to get done in the coming months is equivalent to sitting at a table with one other person and looking out over a sea of food with no shoreline in sight.
But as I started to shamelessly stuff my face with one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, I forgot about the accumulated anxiety of the big picture. I pushed the thought of potential stomach aches out of my mind and simply started thinking about the next mouthful. I think you can tell where I’m going with this.
College is way too short. Make the most of what little time you have here, whether it be killing yourself at early morning workouts for a sports team or barricading yourself in the library due to your obscene course load this semester. Don’t give up on something you love just because your plate seems a little too full. You’ll end up feeling starved. Trust me, I know.
You may feel overwhelmed, perhaps hopelessly so, but if you do, you’re doing things right. The end result will taste delicious.
So go ahead. Bite off more than you can chew. It’ll be worth it.
