Jeff Wagenaar is living the dream

By Shane Hennen–Jeff Wagenaar is living the dream… according to his friends anyway. Jeff spends his afternoons playing video games.

Underneath, however, Wagenaar wishes he was doing something else.

Jeff’s best friends consist of four college basketball players with time-consuming schedules. Every day Wagenaar listen  to his friends complain about how bad their lives are, when in Jeff’s reality it is the other way around. It seems that Jeff and his friends have different perceptions on “the good life”; they want his free schedule while he wants his friends’ activity-filled lives.

Tanner Miller said, “When I think of Jeff’s daily schedule, I think of paradise.” The main reason why these guys think his life is paradise is because they see a life of free choices and no limitations. Kyle Nikkel said, “When I wake up the first thing I think of is practice and it basically ruins my whole day.” Tanner Miller said, “I couldn’t imagine not being apart of the team, but I would love to be in Jeff’s shoes for a few days.”

A normal day in the life of Wagenaar consists of waking up, going to classes, then freedom. He does not have much responsibility other than school. Jeff said, “After classes I pretty much do whatever I want.” He added, “If I want to play video games at three in the afternoon then I play them, if I want to go grab a Big Mac from McDonald’s, I go get one.”

Wagenaar went from life as a jock in high school to watching his best friends becomes the jocks in college. This transition was hard for Jeff. He looks at all his friends and wishes he had their athletic ability to compete at the collegiate level. Jeff said, “I’ll come back to the room and know that they are either at practice or a game and I’m stuck sitting here doing the same stuff that I always do.”

Jeff hears his friends complain about their rough lifestyles, but sometimes wishes he had something to compare it with. “I miss having a coach yelling at me for mistakes and being sore after practice,” he said.

Responsibility could be one cure to a boring life for Wagenaar. “I’m not complaining about my life but, sometimes I wish I could be committed to other things, like my friends,” he said.

Wagenaar is making progress by trying to be more productive with his free time. Jeff said, “When I know I do not have anything to do I try to get something done like, going to workout, cleaning my room, or getting homework done.” By being more active Jeff has seen an increase in his mood throughout the day. He does not feel so left out because he now has more responsibilities and goals to accomplish.