A fun part about getting older is developing new problems that I never experienced before, constant pains and whatnot. I’ve always had annoying gastrointestinal problems starting from when I was in middle school, as I can remember, to the point where I can now pretty reasonably differentiate between several kinds of stomach pains and what I need to do to resolve the pains. However, something that’s new is heartburn — these days, I struggle with frequent heartburn, which is probably brought on by any variety of issues, foods, etc. Because it’s new, I get to play these fun new games that I thought I’d left behind all over again — am I feeling massive, painful heartburn because of what I had for dinner last night? Because I had a few beers after dinner? Because I have a class presentation today? Because I had caffeine? Because I’m lacking sleep? All possibilities! With my other GI issues, I’ve mostly figured it out and learned to manage it; with this, it’s all new, so I have to start over.
But, I don’t write this because of my own issues. I’m doing student conferences this week, ostensibly to discuss my students’ final projects, but really to give me a chance to sit down and chat with students one-on-one in a way I don’t often get to do throughout the semester, particularly with quieter students. This morning, I had really bad heartburn, worse than I’ve had in a while. (I’m tracing it currently to the shrimp with glazed walnuts I had last night in part because the leftovers just gave me an acid reflux redux.) As a result, I had to take medicine, lie down, and push back the first few meetings. My students this term have been great, so the fact that they were understanding wasn’t surprising; what was surprising, though, was how many of these 18- to 20-year-old students sympathized due to their own struggles with chronic heartburn. I met with 10–12 students students today, and at least three mentioned their own struggles with something that is related to anxiety and stress, which is rather frightening to me.
I don’t have anything poignant to say here, only that it’s disheartening. I’m 35 — again, I’m not a fan of my newfound pains and illnesses, but I also treated my body like crap for a long time (still do!). When I think about the charges of the youth being lazy and whatnot — which I don’t buy, anyway, but that’s besides the point here — there’s a disconnect between the stress and anxiety our students are experiencing and those kinds of claims. I’ve been working to be more conscious of student perspectives, issues, and experiences throughout the semester — not because I hadn’t before, but just as an area on which to focus at the moment — and a world-weariness is certainly part of it. I want my students to work hard, but college should also be an enjoyable experience, regardless of what students are looking to get out of it — even if they don’t share my appreciation of learning for the sake of learning (a whole other post).
In the meantime, my shrimp and glazed walnut leftovers are yelling at my esophagus, so back to bed I go.
