Dear Fiona,
The Great Midwest Trivia Contest is coming up, and everyone here at Lawrence takes it so seriously. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I really like Trivia — it is cool and all — but I just don’t get the immense amount of hype that happens every year. I don’t really enjoy it that much, but my friends love playing it and if I don’t play with them, then I won’t see them for the whole weekend. What do I do? How can I survive Trivia without either getting totally sucked into it or just outright ignoring it?
-Trapped by Trivia
Dear Trapped by Trivia,
I completely commiserate with your situation. In my freshman year, I tried to play for my dorm’s team, but I wasn’t feeling it at all so I quit after about an hour. I felt terrible. I felt like I didn’t belong at Lawrence because I didn’t enjoy Trivia. Everyone I knew loved it. It’s so unique to Lawrence and such a part of the culture here that not enjoying it felt like a betrayal of the Lawrentian experience or something.
I soon found out that this was not the case at all. There are plenty of people who aren’t into Trivia, and that doesn’t make them any less Lawrentian. So don’t feel bad that you don’t enjoy it or don’t want to participate in it. It’s totally fine, and you are not alone in what you’re feeling.
So, you’re in a bit of a pickle. You don’t really like Trivia, but you can’t just skip it altogether or else, you’ll be really lonely all weekend. What you need to come up with is a way for you to participate with the least amount of pain possible—I speak metaphorically, of course.
The best suggestion that I can give is to do what I like to do each year when Trivia rolls around—that is, spending time with your Trivia-obsessed friends by participating in specific theme hours or action questions that interest you. You can also hang out with them by just being around while they are playing, or by helping them when they need to unwind or take a break.
Other than that, it’s probably going to be kind of a lonely weekend. Take advantage of the time you have on your hands by doing all the tasks you’ve been putting off for the past four weeks: do your laundry, tidy your room, wash all the dishes you’ve been hoarding in your room, actually do some of your homework before Sunday night — stuff like that. I know that sounds kind of boring and sad, but since the time you will be spending with your friends this weekend is going to be intense and full of adrenaline, you may actually enjoy being away from people for a bit.
As always — and this goes for everyone including all of you who are participating in Trivia this year — don’t forget to take time to take care of yourself amidst all the chaos! Have fun, but don’t push yourself too far.
Good luck!
-Fiona