At about 10 p.m. on a random Tuesday night last spring semester, my roommate and I were starting to settle down for the night. As we both crawled into our beds to spend the next hour or so playing our coloring game, I sat up in bed and said the words that have lived rent free in both of our minds since then: “I genuinely think the greatest love story in my life will be between me and my bed.”
As humorous as I find this statement to be, I have since reflected on its truth and validity. As someone on this campus who has somewhat strong opinions regarding the idea of marriage at 21 years old while still in college; however, if you are – more power to you, I am quite happy with the statement that the most significant love story in my life will be between me and my bed. That being said, before you write me off as crazy and anti-relationship, please here me out.
First of all, I have no issues with relationships. When I spoke those words, I was in one myself. I will be everyone’s biggest hype-woman for those that are in relationships. I think they are a beautiful reflection of the love that Christ has for each of us. Still, if you do not have a “love story” worthy relationship with your bed, simply what are you doing?
At the risk of sounding completely lazy, my bed is my favorite place to be. The eight hours I strive to spend sleeping each night are spent in the twin size bunk bed laden with my weighted blanket, I highly recommend one if you do not already one, my quilt, several pillows that are in fact all necessary and an impressive collection of stuffed animals given to me by my lovely friends. For a lack of better words, it is the most inviting place in this entire world, at least that I currently know of.
When I am not in class, at rehearsals, eating or grinding away at the seemingly endless pile of homework that befits a full-time college student, you can probably find me in my bed. I find it to be an incredible place for self-soothing, relaxing from the business of daily life, recovering from exhaustion or even just a comfy spot to doom scroll for the times that one just needs to forget about the rest of the world for a while.
Nevertheless, for my fellow college students who also live in a state of permanent exhaustion, it is with deep love and respect that I encourage you to not do homework in your bed. Been there, done that. It usually ends with a massive, several-hour nap with no homework having been done. Or am I the only one?
For a lack of better words, my bed has always been a constant, ready to embrace me at any time of the day or night, and to be frank with you, has never broken my heart. Where both friendships and relationships can have the poignant ability to leave one feeling empty and lonely, I have found my bed to be a stark contrast to this. In fact, my bed has often been a place of solace when those feelings arise, as they undoubtedly do.
I truly learned the value of appreciating the place where I go to sleep while I was living with the roommate who witnessed my speaking of the words that inspired this article. As I navigated fatigue and burnout during my junior year at Northwestern, I found myself spending more time than I usually would have in my bed. Since then, it has become much more than just a place in which I crash at the end of the day. So, I encourage you: if your bed has not yet let you down, take a moment to appreciate that it consistently embraces you day after day.
