GET A LIFE

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY, "I HAVE NO LIFE?" DOES IT MEAN GETTING 5 HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT LIKE RYAN SEACREST BECAUSE HE IS AN INCREDIBLY BUSY CELEBRITY? OR GETTING 6 HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT LIKE A TEENAGER WHO HAS CHOSEN TO STAY UP TILL MIDNIGHT EVEN THOUGH 6 A.M IS HIS TIME TO RISE FOR SCHOOL? OR GETTING A PROFESSORSHIP BECAUSE AS AN INTELLECTUAL ONE WILL GAIN CREDIBILITY DENYING THE EXISTENCE OF THE WAR ON TERROR ON THE BASIS OF SEMANTICS ALONE? OR BECOMING AN ELITE PRIVILEGED TO LIVE IN A MILLION DOLLAR HOME IN A COMMUNITY OF WELLNESS-FILLED LIVING? DOES IT MEAN EARNING A NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS AS A THINKER WHO OPINES THAT THE "GOOD REASONS" FOR LOW BIRTH RATES AROUND THE WORLD ARE THE "HIGH TIME COST OF RAISING CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY FOR EDUCATED WOMEN AND THE DESIRE OF PARENTS IN KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMIES TO INVEST MORE IN EACH CHILD?"

DO THESE EXAMPLES REPRESENT HAVING "NO LIFE"? I DON'T THINK SO. ON THE CONTRARY, THEY EXEMPLIFY LIFE CHOICES. MR. SEACREST DEFINES HIS LIFE BY FAME AND FORTUNE; HE WOULD HAVE IT NO OTHER WAY. TEENAGERS TRADITIONALLY CHOSE TO BURN THEIR ADOLESCENT CANDLES AT TWO ENDS - ONE WICK FOR PEER RELATIONSHIPS AND THE OTHER FOR PERSONAL GRATIFICATION. PROFESSORS ASPIRE TO A RESPECTED PLACE IN THEIR ISOLATED, IVORY TOWERS. THE ELITE DELIBERATELY REPLACE BASIC LIVING WITH OSTENTATION, ARTIFICIALITY AND FALSE SPIRITUALITY. AN ECONOMIST DELIBERATELY FOCUSES ON SPOILED PARENTS FOR HIS RATIONALE ON LOW BIRTH RATES, NEGLECTING THE OVERWHELMING NUMBERS OF PARENTS AROUND THE WORLD FOR WHOM CHILDREN - WITHOUT CONSIDERATIONS OF MONEY - REPRESENT GENUINE MEANING IN LIFE.

A COMPLAINT ABOUT HAVING "NO LIFE," RATHER THAN INDEXING ABSENCE OF MEANING, ILLUMINATES SURVIVAL CHOICES. IT REVEALS EVERYTHING ABOUT WHAT FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON APTLY TITLED HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, "MY LIFE."