Sign of the times

Here’s the latest column.

Every April, you can find people on this campus in the midst of a serious quarter−life crisis. Seniors, you know what I’m talking about. Within the span of 10 minutes, I oscillate between being unbelievably ready to graduate to walking up to my freshman−year dorm and hugging the outside of the building, wishing I could go back four years. This crazed state is nothing new to Tufts in April, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

My emotional state is manifesting itself in interesting ways. The usual suspects are all here: headaches, not being able to sleep, an inability to concentrate because my mind is racing — but there are now some new friends joining the party that is my emotional frenzy. When I get stressed, I do every possible task, except that paper I have to write or studying for that test I have tomorrow. I have a habit of stress cooking — I’ve made some of my most elaborate meals when I’ve got a lot on my mind.

But this time around, I barely have the patience to cook. Even boiling water to make pasta is too much work. The most complicated thing I’ve cooked in the past two weeks were frozen potstickers that I threw in a pan. Normally, no matter how much I am unable to focus or calm down from being over−stressed, I can always focus on food, but with May 23 looming ever closer, even that’s been thrown out the window.

To make up for my lack of cooking tolerance, I’ve been eating out a lot and ordering take−out. That’s also been different for me. Last month, I went to a McDonald’s for the first time since middle school, and I recently had KFC for the second time ever. (I did not get the Double Down — I’m stressed, but I haven’t totally lost it.)

The fast food and take−out have been unsatisfying, leading to more impatience and stress, which results in more take−out. It’s a vicious cycle that I can’t seem to break, and I’m guessing more than a few of you have found yourselves in a similar situation recently. Whether it’s because of the impending doom — or maybe joy? I’m starting to oscillate again — of graduation, or because of fast−approaching finals and end−of−the−semester work, April certainly is the cruelest month.

Well, it turns out that maybe April isn’t totally to blame. It’s actually the fast food. I blame the Colonel, the King and the Golden Arches for my emotional state.

A new study from the University of Toronto found that exposure to fast food can lead to impatience and stress, even outside of the food realm. Researchers Chen−Bo Zhong and Sanford DeVoe showed people symbols and logos from popular fast−food restaurants. Exposure to these logos caused the test subjects to read faster and worry about saving time, though the participants were under no sort of time crunch or pressure to complete the study. Additionally, seeing fast−food logos made the participants want to spend more money on instant gratification versus saving for the future.

The participants in the study had these reactions whether or not they were consciously or unconsciously exposed to the logos. Meaning, if you are watching TV and see a logo for a fast−food restaurant or drive by a place quickly on the highway, you will have the same response: stress and impatience. The logos subconsciously make us think of things associated with the brand, which in the case of fast food is a hurried, on−the−go, harsh lifestyle of the real world.

The exact same thing that is looming on the other side of May 23.