Dear Badger,
As I am halted at the wine section at the beloved Aldi, with only a tenner in my pocket for food for the next few days, I am at war with myself.
While the shoppers around just presume I am a student overwhelmed by Aldi’s not so overwhelming wine selection, the reality is I am deciding whether or not I should be spending nearly half my budget on a bottle of wine, when what I really need is chicken.
I stand there for another three minutes staring aimlessly at the shelf while the other shoppers now officially begin to wonder if there is actually something wrong with me(at Aldi, this would be no surprise). I just cannot decide; I want the wine, but I need the chicken. ‘Seriously, it shouldn’t be this hard’, I mumble crazily to myself. I clearly need the chicken or I’ll be dining as a vegetarian tonight (not that I have anything against vegetarians), it’s just been so long; I’ve almost forgotten what it taste’s like.
But then again without that glass of wine, the now poultry accompanied dish just won’t go down as smoothly. Plus, it’s been a long day at the shop and everyone knows a glass of wine eases the stress and makes for better study later, obviously. I stand in mental suffrage talking to myself for the next 10 seconds tapping my foot faster and faster like a ticking time bomb, until boom, I snatch the bottle of Merlot that has been glaring at me for the last agonizing 5 minutes and 10 seconds.
I dash to the queue without a second thought, just in case common sense kicks and in and stops me right in my tracks. This situation-not me looking like an indecisive idiot in the supermarket-, but choosing between what I want and what I need is, at least for me, an integral part in the life of the struggling student.
We are in a constant battle between good vs evil and striking the befitting balance between work and play. I am sure it has happened to all of you. I want to go clubbing tonight, but I need to revise, I need to go to my 9 am, but I want to sleep in, I want that case of beer, but I actually need breakfast foods. The list is endless and so are our choices.
The problem is making a decision, the right decision.
But sincerely, unless you’re hung over, have missed your 9 am and the only thing you have in your fridge is an egg, I guess there really is no right answer. Sometimes what we want is really what we need and other times what we need is exactly what we want.
So in the end, who cares I didn’t buy the chicken. What I really needed was the wine.
Jemada Cicely
