I enjoy breaks from working as much as I enjoy the breaks of a Kit Kat bar. They grant me the time to think and chew over what I want to do with my life.
For almost three months now, I have been away on an unpaid vacation from this voluntary columnist position. It may have been more of an exile, but I am over it just like I am over Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men” marrying the awkward curly-haired friend in “(500) Days of Summer.” I moved on, because frankly, I’m too good for her anyway.
The whole ordeal yielded a positive result.
Without the need to procure my patented primo piece for the paper every week, I discovered the time to shift my focus to passions I had continually set aside in the past. The National Basketball Association soon usurped my being.
Before my sabbatical, I could only wade in the shallow end of the NBA knowledge pool. My lack of expertise from personal time constraints impeded my access into the deep end. Soon after my departure, though, I took the dive I had always wanted, and now, I am totally immersed. My osmosis of an extensive sum of NBA understanding has left me pruning, but I refuse to get out.
Subscribing to more than enough NBA-centric blogs and sites on the addictive Google Reader while amassing and devouring a respectable collection of historical NBA books may necessitate my attendance at a Sportsaholics Anonymous meeting. True enough, but I do not consider this a problem.
I unabashedly admire what I have accomplished, because I have broken ground on satisfying a passion of mine while hardwiring a mental encyclopedia that could be profitable later in life. Hopefully, the profit need not be limited to dominating Sporcle.
I tell you this personal experience to emphasize the importance and benefits of taking advantage of breaks. Even “His Airness” pursued a vacation from his work on the hardwood.
In 1993, Michael Jordan retired, shocking the sports world. After nine seasons of competing at the highest level of talent and intensity with three straight championship runs under his belt and a slew of individual accomplishments, Jordan, at the age of 30, had endured enough.
He could not idle for long, though.
Jordan unleashed his unrivaled competitive spirit a year into his retirement. He played a season with the minor league Birmingham Barons baseball team, finishing with a paltry .202 batting average. He also took part in saving the Looney Tunes from slavery on “Moron Mountain,” an alien-run amusement park planet.
After a short stint at the tail end of the 1994 season, Jordan returned in full force for the 1995 campaign in which the Chicago Bulls began their second run of three straight NBA championships.
Could the Bulls have won eight in a row had he not taken a break? They had the talent, but without his mental and physical retreat, he would not have been as fresh. Of course, NBA Commissioner David Stern forced Jordan into retirement anyway as a result of Jordan’s gambling problem, but that theory is for another day.
MJ relaxed during his exile (or unpaid vacation) and tried out the sport his dad had always wanted him to play. He never found his swing, but the infamous game in “Space Jam” certainly excused his 114 strikeouts.
Like Mike, I am returning to an activity that I have missed during my time off, and I cannot wait for the Fall.
I had a great year pretending I entertained all Capstonians every Monday, and I look forward to another year with a revamped and exciting newspaper staff.
Do not mistakenly dismiss our cries for helpful commentary. Take a much-needed break from studying and complete our survey.
Wesley Vaughn is a sophomore majoring in public relations and political science.
